Indiana became the fifth state in the post-PASPA era to surpass $8 billion in sports wagering handle after the Indiana Gaming Commission on Friday reported $308.3 million in bets for the month of May.
The Hoosier State joined a select circle with New Jersey, Nevada, neighboring Illinois, and Pennsylvania in reaching that milestone. Indiana launched sports betting in September 2019 and has consistently punched above its weight for handle in relation to its modest population size. May’s figure was the ninth consecutive month Indiana sportsbooks generated at least $300 million handle, and more than $2 billion in wagers have been accepted through the first five months of the year.
Despite the 14.3% decrease in handle from April’s total of $360 million, operators recorded a 7% increase in revenue to nearly $30.7 million thanks to a win rate just shy of 10%. It was just the fifth time in 33 months operator revenue surpassed $30 million, while the near double-digit hold ranked sixth overall. The state collected more than $2.9 million in tax receipts for May, and the $13.7 million from the tax thus far in 2022 is nearly $3.1 million ahead of last year’s pace.
Comparing 2022 to 2021, Indiana’s handle has increased by 43.7%, while revenue has climbed 29.3% despite the collective win rate dropping more than three-quarters of a percentage point to just over the industry standard of 7%.
FanDuel continues its roll with double win
All-time Top 10 #SportsBetting handles post-PASPA by state (May in CAPS):
1 New Jersey $27.17B
2 Nevada $24.09B
3 Pennsylvania $14.32B
4 Illinois $12.26B
5 INDIANA $8.09B <—NEW
6 Colorado $6.95B
7 New York $6.63B
8 Michigan $5.93B
9 Virginia $4.98B
10 Tennessee $4.4B— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) June 10, 2022
FanDuel, which overtook eternal rival DraftKings for overall Indiana mobile operator revenue in April, claimed the top spots in both revenue and handle for the third consecutive month. It was also the third straight month FanDuel claimed at least $12 million in winnings, as its 13.7% win rate from $91.6 million in wagers was its fourth-highest for any month.
DraftKings actually narrowed the gap in handle to $7.5 million in May compared to $14.5 million in April, as it generated $84.1 million handle. Its revenue climbed 7.5% month-over-month to more than $7.1 million, and its 8.5% hold was its highest since posting a 9.5% win rate in October 2020.
BetMGM was a comfortable third in handle and revenue, as its healthy 10.8% hold resulted in nearly $4.4 million retained from $40.4 million wagered. Caesars took the No. 4 spot with $30.4 million in bets that resulted in close to $1.9 million in revenue.
BetRivers and Barstool Sportsbook were the only other mobile operators to reach eight figures in handle, and Barstool rounded out the list of those making at least $1 million in revenue for May. It had its first double-digit win rate — at 10.1% — since entering the state in May 2021.
Unibet set a new high in its handle for the second straight month, at $6.9 million, and the $13.1 million in wagers in April and May represents more than one quarter of its overall $49.5 million handle since taking its first bets in July 2020.
The overall win rate among mobile operators was 10.1% on $284.9 million handle, the third time they cleared 10% and the second highest since launch.
Casino sportsbooks also rout public
May #SportsBetting numbers for #Indiana via IGC, a 🧵. Retail Numbers
Overall Racino/WC
Handle $23,481,583 $6,654,303
Revenue $3,136,724 $813,578
Win Rate 13.36% 12.23%13/# GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) June 10, 2022
The operator winnings were not restricted to the mobile side last month. All but one of the 10 brick-and-mortar sportsbooks posted a hold of 10%, and the one that failed to do so — Caesars Southern Indiana — checked in at 9.4%.
Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg continues to be the pacesetter for handle and revenue, reporting state bests of $7.7 million for handle and $885,512 in revenue for an 11.5% hold. Ameristar and Horseshoe Hammond combined for just shy of $1 million in revenue from $5.3 million wagered. Hard Rock’s first month of retail sports wagering resulted in close to $440,000 handle, from which it claimed $69,400 for a robust 15.9% win rate.
Rising Star Casino posted its first monthly win of 2022, albeit with just $9,910 from less than $70,000 wagered. It is still more than $61,000 under from more than $1.4 million wagered in the first five months of the year.
The state’s two racetracks and three Winner’s Circle locations collected $813,578 in revenue from close to $6.7 million wagered, resulting in a 12.2% hold. The Winner’s Circle in New Haven, however, was a drag on those numbers by finishing just $556 ahead on close to $1.5 million handle, for a 0.04% hold. None of the three Winner’s Circle locations — also in Indianapolis and Clarksville — has posted a monthly loss since sports wagering became legal in Indiana.
