Indiana Sportsbooks Just Shy of Doubling Revenue, Handle in 2021

Despite projection, IN sportsbooks had a record $47.7 million in revenue and a record $463.7 million handle in November.
Indiana Sportsbooks Just Shy of Doubling Revenue, Handle in 2021
By
December 31, 2021

The 2021 revenue and wager totals from Indiana’s online and retail sportsbooks are projected to fall just short of doubling their respective totals from 2020. However, total tax revenue to the state is likely to succeed in doubling its 2020 number, data from the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) show.

To date, the state’s 13 active sportsbooks have generated $280.2 million in revenue with a handle of nearly $3.4 billion in 2021. That translates to $26.6 million in tax revenue. By comparison, the books made $154.3 million in revenue in 2020 from a nearly $2 billion handle in 2020, with tax revenue totaling $14.7 million.

At that rate, if revenue and handle in December hit their monthly average for the year, total revenue for 2021 would be $305.7 million while the handle would be about $3.7 billion — only slightly short of $308.6 million and $4 billion that would make it double revenue and handle year-to-year, respectively.

Nevertheless, revenue from online and retail sportsbooks hit a record $47.7 million in November, marking the first time that monthly revenue had crossed the $40 million mark. The handle in November hit a record of $463.7 million, besting the previous record of $461.1 million set in October. It was the second consecutive month that handle was above $400 million. Tax revenue from the vertical hit a record $4.5 million in November.

FanDuel, DraftKings Lead Top Six Operators

FanDuel grossed the highest revenue in November at $15.6 million, followed by DraftKings at $12.6 million. FanDuel operates retail sportsbooks at two riverboats — the Blue Chip Casino Hotel Spa in Michigan City and the Belterra Casino Resort in Florence — and runs its online sportsbook through Blue Chip. Meanwhile, DraftKings operates its online sportsbook through the license of Ameristar Casino Hotel, a riverboat in East Chicago.

In third place, BetMGM — which operates one of two online sportsbooks through Belterra — had $4.5 million in revenue.

Caesars Sportsbook was in fourth place with $3 million in revenue. Caesars operates retail sportsbooks at Horseshoe Hammond, a riverboat casino, and at Caesars Southern Indiana, a land-based property in Elizabeth. It also has a retail sportsbook at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, a racino in Anderson. Caesars operates its mobile sportsbook in the state through Horseshoe and Harrah’s.

Barstool was the fifth-largest operator in Indiana, in terms of revenue, at $1.6 million. It operates retail sportsbooks at Ameristar and Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, a land-based property. Barstool also operates one of two online sportsbooks through Hollywood.

Rounding out the top six operators was BetRivers, which had $1 million in revenue in November. BetRivers runs its mobile sportsbook through the casino license of the French Lick Resort and is the partner for the retail sportsbook there.

The next six operators, in terms of revenue, were PointsBet ($963k), Unibet ($325k), theScore Bet ($282k), WynnBET ($281k) and TwinSpires ($197k). Betway posted a loss of $33k for the month.

PointsBet runs the second online sportsbook at Hollywood, while theScore Bet does the same at Ameristar. Horseshoe has a second online sportsbook operated by Unibet, while Betway runs its sportsbook through Belterra. TwinSpires and WynnBET both operate online sportsbooks through the Rising Star Casino Resort, a riverboat in Rising Sun.

A 13th online sportsbook, Bally Bet, was launched in December. Bally’s Corporation acquired the Tropicana Evansville Casino from Caesars Entertainment in June 2021 and rebranded it as Bally’s Evansville.

Tipico plans to launch the 14th sportsbook in the state — and the second one at Hoosier Park — through a 10-year partnership with Caesars, announced in September.

Caesars sold its Caesars Southern Indiana property to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in September 2021 for $250 million. The name of the property has been retained under a licensing agreement between Caesars and the tribe.

Caesars also has deployed Winner’s Circle sportsbooks, a brand that caters to betting on horse races, in four locations: Clarksville, downtown Indianapolis, New Haven, and inside the Indiana Grand Casino, a racino located in Shelbyville.

Four More Sportsbooks Yet to Launch

Four additional sportsbooks have not yet launched in the Hoosier State.

UK-based SBK Sportsbook obtained a temporary vendor license from the IGC in December 2020, but the company has not yet launched in Indiana.

Last April, Carousel Group and Maxim announced they had secured a market access deal in Indiana and would launch its MaximBet platform there.

Another UK-based company, 888 Holdings, signed a long-term market access agreement with Caesars to launch its sportsbook, 888sport, in December 2020. But in June 2021, 888 formed a joint venture with the parent company of Sports Illustrated (SI) to launch an SI Sportsbook in four states, including Indiana.

Fubo Sportsbook announced in November that it had obtained a market access agreement through Caesars

Indiana legalized sports betting in May 2019. Retail opened in September 2019, followed by mobile the next month. The state requires that online sportsbooks form a partnership with a land-based casino.

BetRivers, DraftKings, and FanDuel each launched their online sportsbooks in October 2019. BetAmerica launched in December 2019 but was rebranded as TwinSpires in April 2021.

Several operators launched in 2020, including BetMGM (February), PointsBet (March), Unibet (July), theScore Bet (September), and William Hill (October). William Hill rebranded as Caesars Sportsbook in August 2021. WynnBET launched its online sportsbook in April 2021, followed by Barstool and Betway in May and Bally Bet in December.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500

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