Indiana Sports Betting Revenues Down, Casinos Hold Up Better

Article ByDavid Weir

July 13, 2023

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Posted in: Indiana Gambling News, US Gambling News

Indiana’s gaming industry experienced a downturn in June. Both casino and sports betting revenues recorded decreases compared to the previous month. That’s according to the latest monthly data release from state regulator the Indiana Gaming Commission.

The state’s casinos generated a total win from slots and table games of $191.69 million, marking a 2.4% decrease from May’s $196.46 million.

The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for June stood at $183.6 million, a slight dip of 1.4% from May’s $186.2 million.

On the operator side of things, DraftKings took over first position from rival FanDuel as the most popular of Indiana sportsbooks, with an $87 million handle.

That was part of a successful June for the operator, as it also overtook FanDuel in handle in the largest U.S. sports betting market, New York.

The most popular casino was Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana (pictured), with revenues of $34.1 million for the month.

Sports Betting Takes a Hit, DraftKings on Top

The sports betting sector in Indiana saw a more significant drop.

Bettors in the Hoosier State wagered a total of $224.1 million in June, a decrease of 20.9% from May’s $283.44 million.

Almost 97% of this handle was from online betting, a picture that is reflected nationally.

The mobile handle accounted for $216.6 million. However, that is a 20.4% decrease from May’s $272.1 million.

The sports betting revenue (taxable AGR) for June was $19.46 million, a substantial 42.4% drop from May’s $33.78 million. Consequently, Indiana collected less sports betting taxes for June, coming in at $1.848 million. That’s down 42.4% from May’s $3.209 million.

Online sportsbooks are required to partner with a local casino operator in Indiana.

The most popular partnership for bettors was DraftKings and Ameristar Casino, with a total handle of $87.7 million. It held on to $6.35 million of that as a revenue for a hold of 7.24%.

Just behind them was FanDuel at $69.4 million in handle and an $8 million hold, representing an 11.53% hold.

In distant third was Hard Rock Sportsbook, which took $2.7 million in bets for the month.

Rounding out the bottom of the pack for Indiana’s sports bettors was nationally struggling operator Bally Bet.

It handled just $102 thousand for the month at its online book. However, Bally’s was the only operator to do better at its retail book than its online equivalent, with a $670,000 handle at the sportsbook in its own Bally’s Evansville casino venue.

Rising Star Casino, partnered with WynnBet, was second-to-last for handle at $1.565 million. Bottom for hold was Barstool Sportsbook with Hollywood Laurenceburg. It made a $100,000 adjusted loss on a $4.377 million handle, for a loss of 2.35% for the month.

Casinos Hold Steadier

On the casino front, the top performers in terms of win were Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana with $34,281,361, Horseshoe Indianapolis with $26,963,264, and Horseshoe Hammond, which brought in $23,223,490 for the month.

The least popular of Indiana’s 12 casino venues in June was Rising Star, located on the Ohio River near Laurenceburg. It took in $4 million in revenues over the month.

Despite the overall decrease, it’s important to note that the drops in casino win and revenue were relatively modest compared to the substantial drop in sports gambling.

This is in line with the overall trend at sports betting sites, which typically see less gambling activity during the off-season of most major sports during the summer months.

June also saw several big upset victories in the NHL playoffs Stanley Cup finals, which could have contributed to the sportsbook’s lower holds.