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Basketball Helps Indiana Post Another Record Sports Betting Month

Tiffany Burroughs
Updated: 23 June 2023
3 min to read

According to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s Friday announcement of January’s gambling figures, the Hoosier State’s augmentation in sports betting is enduring into 2021.
Indiana sports betting

On Jan. 14, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey drove past Indiana’s Rob Phinisee, leading the Boilermakers to an 81-69 win over the Hoosiers at IU’s Assembly Hall. This in-state matchup generated over $133 million in basketball bets, the largest January total of the last two years. According to the Indiana Gaming Commission, Indiana bettors wagered $348.2 million during the month, up 11.2 percent from December’s $313.1 million. It is also more than double the January 2020 handle of $170.8 million, and nearly $100 million more than the handle total in November ($251.4 million). The sportsbooks reaped the benefits, with revenues of $29.3 million in January – an increase of 20.6 percent from December’s $24.3 million and a jump of 127.1 percent from the $12.9 million operators won in January 2020. The more the sportsbooks win, the higher the share of that income given to the Indiana state government. (Image: Purdue Athletics)

Indiana has clearly proven itself as a major presence in the sports betting world, even with just in-person sports betting since September 2019. The state’s 9.5 percent tax rate has resulted in $2.8 million in tax funds, an impressive figure. Despite competition from surrounding states like Illinois and Michigan which each have launched mobile sports betting in the last year, Indiana has broken the state record for sports betting handle each month since September. This is a testament to the state’s dedication to sports, especially when considering both basketball and sports betting were originated in Indiana. Indiana’s impressive sports betting numbers show why they are a basketball state.

Indiana Shows Why It’s a Basketball State

With the end of football season, Indiana is challenged to keep up the momentum experienced in February. However, Indiana has a competitive edge: people are passionate about basketball! During the month of January, Indiana had an unprecedented $133.2 million in bets on the roundball sport—the most ever for one sport. Indiana’s success is due to having 10 Division I college basketball teams and the Indiana Pacers from the NBA, as well as people from nearby states like Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois who cross the border to bet on their teams (since college betting is illegal in these states). By comparison, $77.6 million of the bets were on football, including one full week of NFL regular season action, plus three weekends of playoffs, including the Indianapolis Colts in the first round. Additionally, there were college playoff games and the Outback Bowl which featured the Indiana Hoosiers that were also available for betting. The IGC also counted parlay bets separately in their records.

Indiana sports bettors placed $86.1 million in multi-event wagers in January, demonstrating that Hoosiers are gambling big when it comes to online sports betting.

Hoosiers Bet Big Online

Online sports betting was once again on the rise in Indiana last month. According to data from the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC), online wagers totaled $296.5 million for the month of January, representing 85.2 percent of all bets made. This is a slight increase in online betting activity from December 2020, which accounted for 84.1 percent of wagers. With the introduction of more sports betting apps in the last 12 months, the IGC did not see any negative evidence that showed a shift in online betting away from the pre-existing platforms. In fact, two of Indiana’s oldest apps, DraftKings and FanDuel, saw their respective handles more than double in a year; DraftKings went from $66 million in January 2020 to $122.6 million last month, while FanDuel went from $49.5 million to $89.2 million. BetMGM reported a $52.4 million handle and revenues of $3.7 million in January, and PointsBet took in $13.5 million in bets and earned gross revenues of $1.4 million.

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Updated: 23 June 2023
3 min to read

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