Indiana sportsbooks enjoy solid October despite year-over-year handle decline
Hoosier State operators notch strong 10.5% hold on monthly wagering volume of $429.7m
October marked a mixed bag for Indiana sportsbooks, which saw a year-over-year (YOY) decline in monthly handle but made the most of it to the tune of a 10.5% hold, according to new data from the Indiana Gaming Commission.
Hoosier State operators accepted $429.7m in cumulative wagers for the month – a 3.7% YOY decrease from the same period in 2022 – but were able to generate $45.2m in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) thanks to the seventh-highest hold percentage in the state’s four-plus years of legalized sports betting.
The revenue figure marked a 3.6% downtick from the $46.9m tallied in October 2022.
Sportsbooks nonetheless continued to get the best of the betting public, notching their third double-digit-hold month in the last four, and fourth in the last six. That helped drive just under $4.3m in tax payments back to the state.
For the year, Indiana bettors have wagered a total of $3.3bn, down 7.3% from the first 10 months of 2022. Revenue, however, is up 6% YOY to $322.7m through October, with the state having received $30.9m in taxes to date.
The market-wide annual decline can likely be attributed to increased competition from Indiana’s neighbors, with both Ohio (launched in January) and Kentucky (launched in late September) now home to growing online markets.
Indiana bettors continued to favor DraftKings and FanDuel in October, as the two US market leaders combined to account for nearly 75% of statewide handle and 78% of revenue.
DraftKings maintained its edge on the handle side, accepting $172.8m in cumulative wagers to FanDuel’s $147.1m. The two giants were neck and neck in terms of revenue however, with DraftKings ($17.8m) only slightly ahead of FanDuel ($17.4m).
BetMGM rounded out the top three with $3.7m in AGR on handle of $36.8m.
In terms of sports, football unsurprisingly reigned supreme in October, as Indiana bettors wagered a combined $153.3m on the NFL and college football. Basketball was second at $38.4m, followed by baseball at $27.4m.