Indiana sports betting continued its strong run in January as the Indiana Gaming Commission reported Monday the state’s licensed operators took $480.6 million in wagers for the first month of 2024.
That handle figure is the fourth-highest tally in Indiana sports betting history, behind November’s $513.7 million, December’s $503.1 million and $500.1 wagered in January 2022.
While handle missed breaking a record, the operators’ revenue figure of $53.5 million eclipsed the previous record of $51.2 million set in September 2022. It also marked the third time ever and the second consecutive month for revenues to exceed $50 million. Indiana’s 9.5% wagering tax generated $5.1 million for the state.
Last month’s handle represented a 12.5% increase over the $427.2 million reported by the IGC for January 2023. Operators saw an even bigger year-to-year jump. The 13 online operators and 14 brick-and-mortar establishments won $53.7 million, 46.6% more than they did to start 2023.
Indiana posting three of its four highest monthly handles since November is impressive, especially considering it comes on the heels of neighboring Kentucky launching online sports betting in late September, and Ohio, another neighbor, just completed its first full year of wagering.
The IGC’s data also shows that Indiana sports betting apps players their parlays. Last month, multi-leg wagers accounted for $269.9 million of the Hoosier State’s handle. That amount was more than double the $124.7 million bettors wagered on parlays in January 2023. It was also up more than 31% from the $205.7 million placed on parlays in December.
Indiana also continues to show it’s also a basketball state. For single-game wagers, the state reported $113.1 million was wagered on college and pro hoops, compared to $57.5 million for football contests.
FanDuel, ESPN BET Biggest Gainers
Online sports betting accounted for all of Indiana’s year-to-year increase and then some. There was $468.5 million in bets accepted by the online operators last month, a more than 16% increase from the traffic in January 2023. That meant 97.5% of all money wagered in Indiana last month was done through online apps and wagering sites.
FanDuel sportsbook reported the largest handle among operators, with its $179.8 million in bets, up more than $40 million in January 2023. The Flutter Entertainment brand also had its gross receipts more than double from $9.2 million a year ago to $18.7 million last month.
PENN Entertainment saw its handle rise thanks to changing brand names. ESPN BET Indiana reported accepting $30.8 million in wagers. That was up 133.3% from the $13.2 million PENN’s Barstool Sportsbook generated in January 2023. ESPN BET’s revenue also mushroomed as the $1.4 million last month was more than 170% better than the $517,021 Barstool collected in winnings the year before.
DraftKings sportsbook reported taking $159.6 million in handle for the month, an increase of 12.2% from the same month last year. In addition, it claimed $23.2 million in revenue for the month, improving more than 32.5% from January 2023.
Of the top five online operators by handle, BetMGM sportsbook and Caesars sportsbook had declines from the previous year as the nearly $36 million it accepted fell 5.7% from January 2023. Caesars Sportsbook’s handle fell 11.6% as it took just $29.6 million in wagers – almost $4 million less than January 2023. Although their handles went down, both enjoyed increases in revenue from January 2023. BetMGM’s grew by more than $500,000 to $4.1 million, and Caesars increased by more than $750,000 to $2.1 million.
Hoosier Casinos Slump In January
While Indiana’s sportsbooks reported strong year-to-year growth, the same could not be said for its brick-and-mortar casino operators. The 12 casinos reported adjusted gaming revenues of $161.9 million for January 2024, down $193.9 million from the previous year.
It also was a sharp downturn from December, when the gaming operators won $192.8 million.
Maybe the additions of the Fanatics Indiana sportsbook will turn this trend around.
Hard Rock Northern Indiana continues to be the state’s top performer as the land-based casino in Gary reported $29.1 million in AGR, but that was down from $34.1 million in December and $33.3 million in January 2023.
There are no Indiana online casinos.
