Sportsbooks in Indiana set a third consecutive monthly record by handling $463.7 million in wagers during November.
That narrowly exceeded the $461 million that Hoosier State Sportsbooks accepted during a busy October trading period. A calendar quirk ensured that there were five full weekends of NFL action in October. For that reason, many commentators expected the handle to dip in November.
Yet Indiana managed to maintain its hot streak. It is the first state to reveal its November figures, and the slight growth it achieved bodes well for the rest of the country.
Basketball Wagers Push Handle to Record Heights
The state’s online and retail sportsbooks enjoyed an 84.4% year-on-year increase in handle compared to November 2020.
Revenue climbed to $47.1 million, which shattered the previous record of $33.3 million set in September. The state earned $4.5 million in taxes on that total.
READ MORE: Sports Betting Records Came Crashing Down in October
Indiana sportsbooks have now handled $3.4 billion in 2021, and revenue has reached $419.2 million. That has been driven by the last three months, with records continuing to collapse each time a trading report is announced.
Basketball is very popular in Indiana, thanks to the widespread support for the Pacers and a very strong Purdue team. November was the first full month of NBA action this season, so that helped the Hoosier State reach new heights.
DraftKings Leads the Charge
DraftKings was the number one sportsbook in Indiana during November. It handled $166.2 million and earned gross revenue of $12.6 million.
FanDuel was second with $109.8 million in online sports bets and $15.6 million in revenue, making it the most profitable sportsbook in Indiana last month, according to the state report.
The other operators in Indiana include BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Unibet and PointsBet.
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Retail sports betting hit $40.8 million, led by Hollywood Lawrenceburg, which is close to the Ohio border and is therefore popular with sports fans in Ohio, who cannot yet place legal wagers.
Yet that could soon change, meaning Indiana may no longer be able to rely on a steady stream of visitors from Ohio.
Ohio Could Roll Out Legal Sports Betting Within a Year
HB 29, a bill to legalize sports betting in Ohio, passed through both chambers this week. There has been a great deal of debate about the regulatory framework for sports wagering in the state, but legislators have finally reached a compromise.
The original bill would have allowed sports leagues and teams to host one online sportsbook on their master licenses, while casinos and racinos would have been permitted to host two online sportsbooks apiece of their master licenses.
That has now been amended. The new wording of the bill states that sports teams, leagues, casinos and racinos can each host just one online sportsbook on their licenses.
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They will also be permitted to host a second at a later date, provided the licensee can prove it will bring an incremental economic benefit to the state.
Amendments also ensured that licenses will be awarded for five-year periods, whereas the original intent was to issue three-year licenses, and official league data is no longer required to settle in-play bets.
Sportsbooks will also not be able to carry negative revenue forward to ease their tax burden. An attempt to add horse racing failed, but betting on esports will be permitted in Ohio.
The bill has now gone to the desk of Gov. Mike DeWine to be signed into law. That seems a formality, as DeWine is a vocal proponent of legal sports betting. The legal industry will begin no later than January 1, 2023, but it could arrive sooner than that.
