Online and retail sportsbooks generated $461.1m for October, easily breaking September’s record by almost 30%. October’s handle was also up almost 100% from $230.9m for October 2020. The pace of betting increased as gamblers placed $14.9m per day over the 31 days of October, $11.8m daily over September and $7.4m worth of daily wagers over October 2020.
Jake Garza, an Analyst for PlayIndiana, commented: “Five full weekends of the NFL and college football, the opening of the NBA season, and baseball’s postseason gave sportsbooks a rare convergence of betting inventory in October. To surpass the previous record by so much shows an increasing base of bettors, too. It’s hard to imagine a better start to the football season than what has happened in the last two months.”
Online betting generated 89% of October’s total handle with DraftKings leading the online market (with $150.7m). FanDuel followed with $113.3m in online wagering and BetMGM came in third with a $47.7m handle. Since launching in 2019, sportsbooks in Indiana have generated $5.1bn in wagering, $412.5m in gross revenue and $78.3m in tax revenue.
Eric Ramsey, Analyst for PlayUSA, mentioned: “No state has capitalised on its potential as sports betting market better than Indiana. As impressive as some of these records have been, it is also important to remember that Indiana as a market still hasn’t fully matured.”
