Indiana became just the sixth state in the post-PASPA era to reach $1 billion in adjusted sports wagering gross revenue when the state’s gaming commission on Friday reported $29.4 million in AGR for the month of April.
The Hoosier State joined New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Illinois, and Pennsylvania in this select circle, having reached the benchmark in 44 months of wagering after accepting its first bets in September 2019. Indiana has consistently been a top 10 state nationally for handle, often punching above its weight even as other more populous states have since launched commercial wagering.
April’s revenue total came from $321.4 million handle, resulting in a 9.2% hold. Though year-to-date handle is down 11.9% from 2022 at $1.5 billion, operator revenue has climbed 20.2% to $136.4 million. Operators have posted an 8.9% win rate through the first four months of the year, nearly 2.4 percentage points better than 2022.
Handle slipped 25.8% from March, which was slightly worse than the 24.4% decline for the same period in 2022. April’s handle was still enough to make Indiana the sixth state to surpass $12 billion in wagers post-PASPA.
FanDuel, DraftKings again swap spots
Running 2023 YTD Top 10 #SportsBetting handle by state (April in CAPS):
1 NEW YORK $6.62B
2 Illinois $3.02B
3 New Jersey $2.96B
4 Ohio $2.49B
5 Nevada $2.43B
6 Pennsylvania ~$2.1B
7 INDIANA $1.54B <-NEW
8 MARYLAND ~$1.5B
9 Colorado $1.47B
10 Virginia $1.46B#GamblingTwitter— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) May 12, 2023
FanDuel and DraftKings swapped spots in the mobile handle pecking order for the fourth time in the last five months, with FanDuel’s $106 million more than $4.6 million better than its eternal rival. FanDuel also outpaced DraftKings for revenue, claiming $11.8 million, as its 11.1% hold was its lowest in the last nine months.
DraftKings had close to $8.9 million in winnings, fashioning an 8.8% win rate. While its $504.7 million handle for 2023 is $7.5 million more than FanDuel, the latter has generated $18.6 million more in revenue during that span.
BetMGM grabbed the final podium spots for handle and revenue with $34.2 million and $3.3 million, respectively. It was also the 12th consecutive month BetMGM had a hold of at least 9%, and its year-to-date win rate is 9.9%.
Caesars Sportsbook was the only other mobile operator to reach seven figures in revenue, landing at $1.5 million from $27.2 million in accepted wagers. It was also the last of the four mobile operators to have at least $10 million handle.
Betway had its third consecutive losing month, as bettors came out $66,852 ahead on nearly $610,000 in wagers. It has paid out $73,066 above handle in this three-month stretch, dropping Betway’s all-time revenue in Indiana to minus-$61,098 since its May 2021 launch.
Hollywood Lawrenceburg ends losing streak
As one mobile sportsbook had another losing month, Indiana’s top revenue generator on the retail side finally found its groove.
Hollywood Lawrenceburg finished $216,090 ahead for April, its first winning month in 2023 after paying out $1.3 million on top of $20.1 million in wagers the first quarter of the year. The PENN Entertainment location near the Ohio and Kentucky borders is still more than $1 million in the red for 2023, a dramatic reversal from finishing 2022 with a state-best $13.7 million.
The top in-person revenue generator for April was the Winner’s Circle location in Clarksville, which reported $399,038 in winnings from $2.6 million handle. It was part of an overall strong effort from the two racinos and three Winner’s Circle venues, which combined to post a 12.5% hold for more than $667,000 in revenue from $5.3 million in wagers.
Belterra Casino, which is Betway’s retail tether, also had a losing April for in-person betting, with the public coming out $22,380 ahead. Overall, casino sportsbooks totaled close to $916,000 in revenue from $12.6 million handle for a 7.3% hold.
