The Indiana Gaming Commission reported sports wagering handle of more than $427.1 million for the month of January on Friday, a notable year-over-year decline that accompanied bordering state Ohio launching legal betting on Jan. 1.
Handle was down 14.6% from last year’s record $500.1 million, with a portion of the decline due to Buckeye State bettors no longer needing to cross into eastern Indiana for action. While wagering was down nearly 1% from December’s $431.4 million, Indiana sportsbooks still surpassed $400 million collectively for the fourth consecutive month.
The betting public fared slightly better than December, knocking down the win rate nearly 1.4 percentage points to just over 8.5%. Operators statewide reported close to $36.5 million in adjusted gross revenue — ending a four-month streak with at least $40 million — with more than $1.1 million added via adjustments. Ameristar Casino in East Chicago accounted for the bulk of that figure, with an adjustment of more than $700,000.
The state received nearly $3.5 million in tax receipts for January, though that was almost $600,000 lower than December. Indiana has generated more than $86.4 million in state tax revenue through sports wagering since launch in September 2019.
FanDuel skews the mobile breakouts
January #SportsBetting numbers 🧵 for #Indiana via IGC. Han/Rev/WR by mobile operator (1/5)@DKSportsbook $139.63M/$9.25M/6.62%@FDSportsbook $142.33M/$17.49M/12.29%@BetRivers $12.91M/$517K/4.00%
5/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) February 10, 2023
Though the Indiana Gaming Commission does not provide handle and revenue figures by sport category, it provides handle amounts for select sports. The combination of parlay handle totaling $124.7 million and FanDuel‘s dominance in that sphere through single-game and standard parlay wagering makes it probable that the mobile titan rode such plays to another strong month in January.
FanDuel notched its seventh consecutive month with a hold of at least 11% in the Hoosier State, landing at a state-best 12.3% for January. Its $17.5 million in revenue marked its fifth straight month with at least $15 million. The $142.3 million handle was also enough to push it over $3 billion all-time in Indiana.
FanDuel was one of only two mobile operators to post a double-digit hold, as Hard Rock reached 11.9% on $5.5 million in accepted wagers. DraftKings nearly matched FanDuel dollar-for-dollar in handle, finishing a close second with more than $139.6 million. Its 6.6% hold produced $9.2 million — barely more than half of FanDuel’s haul.
BetMGM was a solid third for both handle and revenue at $38.2 million and $3.5 million, respectively, while Caesars Sports completed the list of mobile operators to reach seven figures in January. It claimed $1.3 million from $33.5 million wagered while posting a win rate just under 3.8%.
Barstool Sportsbook and BetRivers were the only other books to reach eight figures in handle, with Barstool’s $13.3 million edging out BetRivers by less than $420,000. The revenue margin between the two was tighter, as Barstool finished $1,675 ahead with just under $519,000. PointsBet eclipsed both in revenue with nearly $540,000, posting a hold of nearly 6.5% on $8.2 million handle.
Some Kentucky-bordering books absorb losses
January #SportsBetting numbers 🧵 for #Indiana via IGC. Top-line takeaways:
-Handle down 14.6% from 1/22
–@HollywoodIND absorbs the worst monthly retail loss in IN history
-All-time revenue tops $900 million2/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) February 10, 2023
It would not be surprising if some retail sportsbook managers along the Indiana-Kentucky border are not the biggest fans of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. While Ohio bettors who back the Bengals can now fend for themselves, Kentucky-based ones are still coming over the border to place wagers.
It was the second straight postseason Burrow guided the Bengals to a pair of January victories and wreaked havoc at the brick-and-mortar books on the state line. Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, usually the state’s bellcow when it comes to in-person revenue, was on the other side of that margin in January. The PENN Entertainment-owned venue suffered the single largest monthly loss in state history at $856,189 — more than seven times the $120,100 loss it absorbed in January 2022 when the Bengals made their run to the Super Bowl.
The minus 13.2% hold stings, but not as much as the -20.2% win rate Belterra was saddled with after losing just shy of $100,000 on more than $492,000 wagered. That was nearly double the $58,369 loss the Florence-located venue took for the same month last year.
Claiming the top revenue spot among retail casino sportsbooks was Caesars Southern Indiana, which cleared $1 million in monthly revenue for the first time thanks to a robust 23.7% hold on more than $4.3 million wagered. The sportsbook, situated in Elizabeth and just across from Louisville, barely topped $3 million in winnings for all of 2022.
The state’s two racinos and three Winner’s Circle off-track betting locations combined for nearly $690,000 in revenue from $7.7 million wagered for an 8.9% win rate. The Winner’s Circle in Clarksville skewed the revenue figure higher, posting a 14.5% hold to claim close to $491,000 from $3.4 million in accepted bets.
