The Indiana Gaming Commission released on Tuesday the full list of sports state bettors will be able to place bets on at local gambling venues. Aside from football, basketball, and baseball, Hoosiers will also be able to wager on less popular sporting events such as bowling and professional darts, among others.
The state gaming regulator posted information about the sports that betting action is permitted on shortly after it issued temporary licenses for the provision of retail betting at ten of the state’s 12 casinos and at three off-track betting locations.
Indiana was among the states to legalize sports betting this year. A bill authorizing the practice survived all legislative hurdles this past spring to be signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb in early May.
The state is now pushing for September 1 start of legal sports betting at the authorized locations. That target aims to ensure that Indiana will be able to take bets on NFL from the very start of the new season. However, some state officials have been skeptic about the proposed timeline, saying it was “very aggressive” and not likely to be met by casinos.
The full list of the authorized sports that betting facilities will be able to take bets on can be seen on the official website of the Indiana Gaming Commission. Some of the events that Hoosiers will be able to place wagers on include NFL, NBA, MLB, collegiate sports, professional golf, soccer, the Summer and Winter Olympics, boxing, tennis, and UFC, among others.
Betting Rules Yet to Be Adopted
The Indiana Gaming Commission is yet to adopt the rules that would govern the state’s betting industry. This is expected to happen at the regulator’s August 28 meeting. A draft version of the rules was published earlier this month.
Under that draft, bettors will be able to place in-person wagers at betting windows at the sportsbooks or using electronic kiosks at the floors of the authorized gambling properties. The sports betting facilities will be required to display sporting events that were approved for wagering by the Gaming Commission as well as the corresponding odds.
Mobile betting is, too, permitted under the recently adopted sports betting legislation, but it is expected to go live at a later stage.
As mentioned above, ten of Indiana’s 12 casinos have been issued temporary licenses to provide sports betting, while their applications for permanent authorization are under review. Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun and Majestic Star Casino in Gary were the only two casinos to not submit license applications.
In anticipation of the start of sports betting in Indiana, Caesars Entertainment Corp. said last month that it would upgrade its four casinos and three off-track betting facilities in the state to offer wagering at those. Last year, the company broke ground on an $85 million expansion12 of its Horseshoe Southern Indiana property.
Caesars said this past May that it would rebrand the casino as Caesars Southern Indiana and would add a sportsbook to its offering.
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