Indiana’s sports betting industry rebounded through August, getting a much-needed lift from NFL preseason games and college football matches. 

Fresh growth imminent for Hoosier State

Indiana sports betting market recorded more transactions in August than in the past few months, thanks to the start of the football season. 

The Hoosier State saw its online and retail sportsbook generate a combined $215.6m in bets in August, which indicates a 27.6 percent jump from $169m in August 2020 and a 10.9 percent increase from $194.5m in July. 

As for the daily turnout, sportsbook operators transacted $7m per day over 31 days in August, a significant increase from $5.5m per day in August 2020.

Gross gaming revenue surges to $16.7m, a 33 percent increase from $12.6m in August 2020 and three percent from $17.2m in July. These sportsbooks also posted total gross revenue of $16.5m and contributed $1.6m in state taxes.

Since Indiana legalized sports betting two years ago, the state generated $4.3bn in wagering, $351.3m in gross sports betting revenue, and $33.4m in taxes.

Skyrocketing online betting market

Online betting activities earned $195.2m, accounting for 90.5 percent of total bets in August. DraftKings recorded the highest betting turnout with a market-leading $74.2m in online wagering in August and $4.4m in gross receipts. FanDuel also generated $52.6m in wagering as the second best-performing sportsbook in Indiana. However, the company produced the highest gross receipts at $4.9m.

Retail betting also made a solid run in August, recording $20.4m in total wagering, which shows a slight increase from $19.9m in July. Hollywood Lawrenceburg transacted $5.6m in wagers to become the top-performing retail sportsbook in Indiana that month.

Quotes from the Press Release

Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA, attributed a pivotal month for Indiana sportsbooks to the start of football season in the state. With the 2020 NFL season kicking off last weekend and the college football schedule all up and running, the analyst expects revenues from sports wagering activities to grow in the coming months. 

“Even a little bit of football can make a big difference in a month,” Ramsey said. “The schedule was still relatively light compared to the fall, but it is a great sign that August brought a nice bounce in wagering.”

Nicole Russo, an analyst for PlayIndiana, agreed that Indiana’s sports betting industry would continue to follow an upward trend as the state turns into one of the fastest-growing sports betting hubs in the United States.