Indiana sportsbooks were able to post year-over-year revenue gains in July despite the softest sports wagering handle in two years, claiming close to $23.3 million in adjusted gross revenue, according to figures released Friday by the Indiana Gaming Commission.
Operators fashioned an 11.4% hold — the fifth-highest in 47 months of wagering in the Hoosier State — from $203.8 million handle. That is the lowest handle since wagering totaled $194.5 million in July 2021, the last time it was below $200 million. It was also the second time in three months the house had a win rate above 11%, with May’s reaching 11.9%.
July’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to 2022, with the hold up 1.3 percentage points to offset a small decline in handle. Despite a 10.7% drop in year-to-date handle compared to 2022 at more than $2.2 billion, sportsbooks have reported 17.8% more revenue in 2023 at $212.9 million.
The hold of 9.5% for the first seven months of the year is 2.3 percentage points higher than the comparable span in 2022. The state received $2.2 million in taxes from July wagering, and the $20.4 million raised in 2023 is $3.2 million ahead of last year’s pace.
FanDuel paces mobile operator rout
Running all-time, post-PASPA Top 10 #SportsBetting handles (July in CAPS)
1 New Jersey $38.9B
2 Nevada $33.5B
3 New York $25.8B
4 Illinois $23.4B
5 Pennsylvania $22.4B
6 Colorado ~$12.8B
7 INDIANA $12.75B
8 Michigan $11.1B
9 Virginia ~$10.8B
10 Arizona $10.2B#GamblingTwitter— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) August 11, 2023
Mobile operators had a statewide hold of 11.3% for July, claiming $21.8 million in revenue from $193.1 million wagered. Despite FanDuel being a distant second in handle to DraftKings for the second consecutive month — the spread between the online titans was nearly $15 million in July and more than $18 million in June — it again took the top spot in revenue with more than $8.5 million from $62.7 million handle.
The 13.6% hold posted by FanDuel extended its streak of double-digit holds in Indiana to 13 months, and it was the seventh time in that stretch it topped 12%. FanDuel has a 12.3% hold in Indiana this year, claiming close to $89.1 million in revenue from $725.5 million handle.
DraftKings had a state-high $77.6 million handle, and its 9.5% hold was nearly three percentage points higher than in June. It finished just shy of $7.4 million for revenue, but its overall 8.4% hold for 2023 has resulted in $25 million less in revenue compared to FanDuel despite having $38 million more in handle.
BetMGM was third in handle and revenue, landing a 12.7% hold on $18.9 million handle to claim $2.4 million in winnings. Caesars Sports also edged over double digits for hold, claiming 10.1% of $15.7 million worth of accepted wagers to report $1.6 million in revenue.
BetRivers made a rare showing in the double-digit hold club at 10.9%, the first time it reached that threshold in Indiana since June 2020 and second time overall since launching in October 2019. Its five-month streak of win rates of 8% or higher is also an all-time best after claiming more than $670,000 in revenue from $6.1 million handle.
PointsBet also had its way with the betting public, with a hold of nearly 13.6%, just .0006 behind FanDuel’s rate as the Australian-based book claimed nearly $513,000 in revenue from $3.8 million wagered. Though it did not have a double-digit hold, PENN Entertainment’s Barstool Sportsbook bounced back strongly from a six-figure June loss, claiming more than $344,000 in revenue from a 9.2% win rate.
Brick-and-mortar books seeing less action
July’s rout was more pronounced in retail wagering, with brick-and-mortar sportsbooks crafting a year-best 15.6% hold from $10.7 million in wagers to keep $1.7 million in revenue. In-person wagering for the year — impacted by Ohio‘s entry into the sports wagering market — is down 27.2% to $136.3 million, compared to $187.2 million in the first seven months of 2022. Revenue has taken a steeper plunge with a 32.5% decline, as the 8.4% hold this year is more than one-half of a percentage point lower than in 2022.
Interestingly, all three Northwest Indiana sportsbooks — located at Ameristar Casino, Horseshoe Hammond, and Hard Rock Northern Indiana — had holds of 22.1% or higher. Horseshoe Hammond had the highest of the trio at 31.5%, keeping more than $260,000 of the $825,000-plus wagered.
The Winner’s Circle in Clarksville had the highest handle of any in-person sportsbook at $2.3 million, and it had an 11% hold to keep just over $250,000 of that amount. Indiana’s two horse racing tracks and three Winner’s Circle locations reported a combined $5.3 million handle and an 11.7% hold on those wagers to collect just over $618,000.
