The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) reported a record $53.5 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for January on Monday, as parlay handle accounted for more than half the state’s $480.6 million worth of wagers.
It was the first time Hoosier State sportsbooks recorded back-to-back months with at least $50 million in revenue, as they built off December’s haul of $50.6 million. The previous record was $51.2 million set in September 2022. Operators statewide posted an 11.1% hold, sixth-highest in 53 months of legal betting, as it reached double digits for the sixth time in the last nine months.
Parlay handle as a percentage of the total handle in Indiana topped 40% for the first time in December, which was also the first time it surpassed $200 million. Bettors went much higher to start 2024, putting down a whopping $269.9 million worth of wagers on the multi-leg bets.
That was $64.2 million more than December’s short-lived record of $205.7 million. The IGC does not disclose revenue figures for sport category, but parlay handle accounted for more than 56% of the total amount bet in January.
With an all-time high in revenue came an all-time high in tax receipts. State coffers saw an inflow of $5.1 million — the first time Indiana operators generated more than $5 million in sports betting taxes in a month as the total since launch in 2019 reached over $126.6 million.
Indiana also became the seventh state to surpass $15 billion in all-time handle since sports betting expanded beyond Nevada on a state-by-state basis in May 2018.
Familiar results for FanDuel and DraftKings
Top 10 post-PASPA #SportsBetting handle by state (thru Jan. ’24 in CAPS)
1 New Jersey ~$45.7B
2 NEW YORK $37.81B
3 Nevada $37.73B
4 Illinois $30.28B
5 Penn. $26.57B
6 Colorado $15.78B
7 INDIANA $15.32B
8 Virginia $13.726B
9 Michigan $13.721B
10 Arizona $13.66B#SportsBettingX— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) February 12, 2024
Sign Up For The Sports Handle Newsletter!
As is the routine most months in Indiana, FanDuel took top honors for revenue among mobile sportsbooks, while DraftKings set the pace in handle. January marked another all-time state high for FanDuel, as the digital juggernaut walloped the public with a 14.6% hold — its best since reaching 15.3% in September 2022 — to claim $23.4 million from $159.6 million handle.
FanDuel has topped $20 million in back-to-back months and remains the only mobile book to surpass $20 million in monthly winnings. DraftKings, though, again came within shouting distance of that benchmark, as it collected $18.7 million in winnings while fashioning a 10.4% win rate against $179.8 million worth of wagers. DraftKings has posted eight-figure revenue totals in five consecutive months, its longest such streak in Indiana.
Though ESPN BET‘s gap between itself and third-place BetMGM swelled to more than $5 million for handle, it had enough to fend off Caesars for the fourth spot at more than $30.8 million. That accounted for 6.6% of the $465.3 million in online wagers, putting ESPN BET within touching distance of its first-year target of 7%.
The betting public pulled ESPN BET back into the pack, limiting it to a 4.6% hold and $1.4 million in revenue — down nearly 62% from December. The PENN Entertainment sportsbook has generated nearly $91.3 million handle over the past three months when including combined November figures with predecessor Barstool Sportsbook.
BetMGM surpassed $4 million in revenue for the first time since March, crafting an 11.3% hold from $36 million worth of bets to clear the benchmark by more than $57,000. Caesars had its first back-to-back months with more than $2 million in winnings since September and October of 2022 thanks to a 6.9% win rate that resulted in $2.1 million in profit from $29.6 million handle.
Bet365, which launched operations in the Hoosier State on Jan. 30, hit the ground running by accepting $1.1 million worth of bets in its first two days. It had a robust 27.8% hold to keep about $315,000 of that amount.
Retail wagering not the draw it once was
Running January/2024 YTD Top 10 #SportsBetting revenue by state:
1 New York $211.71M
2 MARYLAND $80M
3 Indiana $53.47M
4 Iowa $22.06M
5 Oregon $9.49M
6 West Virginia $6.02M
7 Maine $5.55M
8 Montana $852.1K
9 TBD
10 TBD#SportsBettingX #GamblingX— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) February 12, 2024
Indiana’s 14 retail sportsbooks started 2024 much like they ended 2023, with notable declines in year-over-year handle as Ohio and Kentucky bettors no longer need to cross state lines for action. The $15.2 million in accepted wagers was down 48% compared to January 2023, with sportsbooks along the state’s eastern border impacted by the Cincinnati Bengals failing to make the NFL playoffs.
Two brick-and-mortar venues, Ameristar in East Chicago and Belterra in Florence, posted combined losses of nearly $87,000. Ameristar had the bigger payout at $44,556, but Belterra had a minus-26.2% hold paying out $42,243 above its $161,000 handle.
The state’s two racinos and three Winners Circles off-track betting locations had a combined 11.3% hold, keeping nearly $531,000 in revenue from $4.7 million wagered. The overall retail win rate was 8.9%, as the house won close to $1.4 million.
A bright start for operators versus 2023
Handle was up 12.5% from the first month of 2023 in Indiana, while revenue soared 46.7% thanks to a hold that was 2.6 percentage points higher than the 8.5% crafted in the first month of last year.
Despite handle being down 4.5% compared to December, operators still had a 5.6% uptick in revenue.
