Indiana Sports Betting: Revenues Rise in May Even as the Handle Drops

Indiana Sports Betting: Revenues Rise in May Even as the Handle Drops.

Costfoto / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Indiana’s sportsbooks expectedly saw a dip in activity for May. Still, they managed to generate more revenue in the month than they did in April. That’s according to data released by the Indiana Gaming Commission on Friday.

Indy 500Marcus Ericsson takes the checkered flag at the 2022 Indianapolis 500 on May 29. The auto race was one of the major sporting events held in the month, when Indiana s licensed sportsbooks reported a collective handle of $308.4 million. (Image: James Black/Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

The retail sportsbooks and online apps licensed in the state reported a handle of $308.4 million in May. That was a nearly $52 million drop from the $360 million they accepted in wagers for April.

April saw the end of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the NBA regular season. With basketball being the top sport for Indiana’s bettors, handle on hoops fell by more than a third, from $129.2 million in April to $84.5 million last month.

Parlay bets also fell from $91.3 million to $73.1 million. But wagers on baseball rose nearly 22% from month to month, with bettors staking $69.1 million in May.

Bets on other sports rose slightly from $76.5 million in April to $77.2 million last month. While events like the PGA Championship and the NHL playoffs attract interest, that segment also likely got a boost from the May 29 , the biggest annual sporting event held in the state.

From a year-to-year standpoint, May’s handle jumped 21.2%, or $54 million, from May 2021’s $254.4 million handle.

Revenues Rev Up in May

While betting activity waned in May, reported a $2 million increase in adjusted gross revenues (AGR) from April, to $30.7 million. It also represents a 62.4% jump from May 2021, when sportsbooks collected just $18.9 million in winnings.

FanDuel took in $12.6 million in gross receipts in May off a handle of $91.6 million. DraftKings won $7.1 million off $84.1 million. Meanwhile, BetMGM collected $4.4 million from the $40.4 million its bettors gambled in May.

Based on Indiana’s 9.5% tax on AGR, the state received $2.9 million last month.

Based on the handle and the AGR totals, it would indicate a 9.9% hold for the sportsbooks in May. However, the IGC warns against calculating a “relevant” hold, because the handle includes wagers made on futures markets that were not completed in May.

Changes Coming to Indiana Sports Betting Landscape

May saw Indiana’s newest commercial casino, Hard Rock Northern Indiana, open its retail sportsbook. With that, now have a brick-and-mortar facility.

However, most bettors in Indiana make their wagers through online apps. In May, 14 online operators accounted for $284.9 million, or 92.4%, of Indiana’s handle.

Indiana’s online sports betting landscape will get a little smaller this month, as two licensees have announced they will be ending operations.

Earlier this year, Churchill Downs Incorporated said it would discontinue online sports betting through its TwinSpires division. Company officials noted there were concerns about profitability within online sports betting, especially as some companies have spent large sums to promote their sportsbooks and acquire customers.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Penn National Gaming announced that would stop operating in Indiana and three other US states. Penn has two sports betting companies, with the other being Barstool Sportsbook. The move means theScore will now become Penn’s sportsbook in Canada, where theScore serves as a major sports media company.

Neither theScore nor TwinSpires were major operators in Indiana. Both ranked in the bottom tier in terms of handle, with theScore generating $601,354 in bets last month and TwinSpires attracting $121,151 in wagers.

Article Sources
David Baazov’s Lawyer Grills AMF, Claims Regulator’s Case Is Full of Holes editorial policy.
  1. Las Vegas Cyber Monday Deals Offer Deep Savings on Casino Hotel Rooms, Shows

Compare Accounts
×
Planned Encore Boston Harbor Addition Halted Due to Dispute with City
Provider
Name
Description
Las Vegas Aces Star A’ja Wilson Ties WNBA Scoring Record with 53 Points  MGM Could Make Run at Skillz and Flutter, Says Report  Iowa Sports Betting Launches: State Becomes 11th in US with Seven Books Open, William Hill Launches Mobile  NY Times Reports DraftKings, del Lago Records Subpoenaed in Federal Inquiry  Mega Millions Climbs to $750M, Fifth-Largest Lottery Jackpot in US History  Kentucky Approves Sportsbook Operators with Betting Weeks Away  Waukesha Christmas Parade Suspect Darrell Brooks Has Lengthy Nevada Rap Sheet  WinStar Casino App Was ‘Spilling Customer Data’: TechCrunch  Melco, Sands Lead Macau Rally on Reports of Shanghai Lockdown Loosening  North Carolina GOP Brass Optimistic About Commercial Casinos Following Sports Betting