Just as expected, Indiana’s sports betting market exploded after the launch of mobile wagering in early October, according to numbers released by the state Gaming Commission on Friday.
The state’s retail and digital sportsbooks handled $91.7 million in bets in October, up significantly from September’s total betting handle of $35.2 million.
Indiana legalized sports betting this summer as part of a larger gambling reform. The state’s first retail sportsbooks opened doors on September 1. And the first mobile betting operations went live on October 3, making Indiana the eighth state to be offering digital athletic wagering.
DraftKings, which has partnered with Penn National Gaming’s Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, and Rush Street Interactive, which works with French Lick Casino, were the first two operators to begin accepting mobile bets from Hoosiers. The start of mobile wagering at both casinos came as a big boost to their sports betting performance in October.
The nearly $92 million October betting handle translated to revenue of $11.5 million, up from $8.6 million generated in September. The state collected $1.1 million in tax revenue from regulated sports gambling last month.
Under state gambling law, Indiana bettors can place bets on a number of professional, collegiate, and international sports events, including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, boxing, and Olympic competitions, among others.
Football cemented itself as the most popular sport to place bets on in October, with $41.1 million in wagers.
DraftKings Was the Clear Leader
As mentioned above, DraftKings was among the earliest entries in the Indiana mobile betting field. And the operator emerged as the clear leader during the first month of digital wagering in the state. It recorded $39.3 million in handle last month. The DraftKings Sportsbook’s handle accounted for nearly 43% of the state’s total.
Aside from DraftKings, BetRivers, operated by Rush Street, and FanDuel were the other two operators to go live with digital betting in October. The BetRivers app went live on October 3, the same day that DraftKings Sportsbook was launched. It handled $6.3 million in wagers last month.
As for FanDuel Sportsbook, it went live on October 22 and took $2.4 million in bets. The sports betting operation has claimed the largest market share in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but it is yet to be seen whether it would be just as successful in Indiana. So far, its archenemy DraftKings is the king of the state’s mobile betting realm, but things may change soon.
In retail betting, Horseshoe Hammond, which is located just around 15 miles from Chicago, Illinois, generated the highest wagering total in October, with $10.7 million. It was followed by French Lick Casino with $7.1 million and Blue Chip Casino with $6.9 million.
Commenting on Indiana’s October results, Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at sports betting news outlet PlayIndiana, said that the state “is quickly becoming a star among legal sports betting markets in the US” and that it is “well on its way to establishing itself as the gambling capital of the Midwest.”
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