Indiana Sports Betting Handle Crosses $500 Million for Fourth Time

The Indiana sports betting industry bounced back strongly in March, adding almost another $100 million to February’s tally. The Indiana Gaming Commission reported that the state collected $500.8 million in sports betting handle in March, which was the fourth time in more than four years that Indiana passed $0.5 billion in wagers. Betting handle was up more than 20% from February’s dip in wagers.

In total, the state’s operators combined to generate $39.4 million in adjusted gross gaming revenue, which indicated a hold rate of close to 8%. Indiana also managed $3.7 million in sports wagering tax in March.  

According to the IGC report: 

“Sports wagering Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) reflects the Handle (wagers) less the payouts on winning wagers made during the reporting month and adjustments made. The Handle includes wagers received for future events in which the payout would not be made on a winning ticket until a future month. Therefore, a relevant win percentage cannot be calculated by simply dividing the Gross Revenue by the Handle reported during a like period.”

DraftKings Leads Betting Handle in Indiana

DraftKings (DraftKings 37,80 -2,05%) led the state in wagers collected with $184.3 million in handle collected, which was the company’s second-highest haul in Indiana. In total, DraftKings collected $13.6 million in gross receipts on a hold rate of 7.4%.

FanDuel (Flutter Entertainment 25,40 +0,08%) was far behind in handle but had a sensational hold rate in March. FanDuel collected $153.2 million in betting handle and generated $13.9 million in gross receipts on a win rate of 9.1%, surpassing even DraftKings’ collection.

BetMGM (MGM Resorts International 36,51 +1,70%) had a solid month in March, notching up $42.3 million in betting handle and gaming revenue of $2.6 million at a hold rate of 6.1%. It was a bitter-sweet month for the company as March was the company’s second-highest handle but second-lowest win rate in Indiana.

ESPN BET had $21.1 million in handle with gross receipts of $1.1 million, which was a win rate of 5.3%. Caesars Sportsbook had the same hold rate on sports betting handle of $27.4 million with gross receipts of $1.4 million.

Bet365 was another company that generated over $20 million in handle ($20,088,650) with gross receipts of $1.3 million. Fanatics generated $12.4 million in wagers with gross revenue of $759,438.

Another Strong Month for Basketball

With March Madness in full flow, basketball predictably took the lion’s share of wagers in Indiana last month. In total, close to $168 million was wagered on basketball in March, taking the year-to-date (YTD) tally to $758.6 million.

Parlays formed a significant chunk of the betting market in March, with $148.1 million wagered on combination bets. The “Other” category, which includes sports like tennis, soccer, and ice hockey, captured the most money, with $173 million bet on these other sports.

With the NFL in its offseason and the MLB only just picking up traction, both sports combined for a little over $11 million in wagers in March.

Indiana Collecting More Tax Every Year

Indiana has enjoyed an upward trajectory for most of its betting history. In 2020, the state collected $1.7 billion in handle. At a hold rate of 7.7%, Indiana’s operators managed $137 million in revenue, which subsequently helped the state collect $13 million in tax.

Tax receipts more than doubled in the next year, with $29 million collected in 2021 as handle spiked to $3.8 billion and revenue surpassed $300 million. In 2022, Indiana managed $4.44 billion in handle and $387 million in revenue at a hold rate of 8.7%, which gathered $36.8 million in tax.

Indiana collected even more tax in 2023 even though handle dipped year on year. Last year, Indiana generated $4.3 billion in handle but revenue jumped to $404.1 million at a win rate of 9.3%. Tax receipts last year were $39 million.

In the first three months of this year, revenue has already crossed $130 million, which is up more than 22% compared to the first quarter of the last calendar year. Tax receipts this year have accumulated to $12.4 million, which is also more than $2 million higher than the same comparison period last year.

Trajectories and patterns have already indicated that Indiana could be set for a record-breaking year, with handle set to cross $5 billion. At a hold rate of 8%, the state’s operators should be able to generate more than $400 million in revenue and more tax than Indiana has ever collected before annually.

READ MORE:

• Indiana Revenue Drops in Sports Betting for February After Previous New Monthly Record
• Fanatics Sportsbook Goes Live in New York and Indiana
• Bet365 Launches Sports Betting in Indiana