Indiana Has Worst Sports Betting Month in Two Years During July

The state of Indiana, along with Indiana's best sports betting apps and retail providers, maintained an unwanted losing streak after the July earnings report released Friday.

Indiana had been one of the most reliable sports betting jurisdictions in the country. But competition from Michigan, Illinois, and most recently Ohio has cut into the bottom line of the Hoosier State's best sportsbooks bottom line.

The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) July report identified year-over-year revenue gains for the legal sports betting industry, but the handle figures continue to slide.

Indiana's handle for July 2023

Indiana's regulators identified $203.8 million in total sports wagering activity for July, the state's lowest total since July 2021 when a $184.5 million handle was reported. Indiana hasn't been below the $200-million mark since.

$203.8 million represents a 10% drop in overall wagering activity from June when Indiana sports betting apps and retail outlets took in just under $224.1 million. However, it's just a year-over-year 1% drop from the $206.6 million reported in July 2022.

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Revenue gains

The Indiana Gaming Commission reported Friday that adjusted gross revenue for Hoosier State sportsbooks and betting sites came in at nearly $23.3 million, thanks to an 11.4% hold. That's the fifth-highest hold rate for the state's sportsbooks over nearly four years of operation, and the second time in three months that sportsbooks in the state have held over 11%. 

May, the other great month in terms of hold rate, finished with the Indiana sports betting provider win rate coming in at 11.9%.

Building on the hold rate theme, Indiana sportsbook revenues for July represent an impressive 11.3% year-over-year improvement from 2022, thanks in part to a 1.3% jump in overall hold rate. In July 2022 Indiana's best sports betting providers held 10.1%.

Year-to-date figures

Indiana's year-to-date sports betting figures are a good news/bad news story. Overall sports betting activity has dropped 10.7% through the first seven months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. So far $2.2 billion has been wagered on sports during 2023 in Indiana,  with Ohio notably taking some of the Hoosier State's action away.

But an increased hold rate has been creating a bit of a boon for Indiana sports betting apps and the state's retail partners. Indiana's hold rate sits at 9.5% year-to-date, which is 2.3% higher than through the first five months of 2022.

Revenues for Indiana's sportsbooks from January to July of 2023 sit at $212.9 million, a 17.8% increase from the same period in 2022. Again, that's mostly due to sportsbooks besting sports bettor in the state more frequently.

Increased year-to-date revenues have led to a jump in taxes that Indiana's sports betting providers need to pay. So far in 2023, Indiana's state and local coffers have benefitted to the tune of $20.4 million in tax contributions, $3.2 million more than last year during the same period.

FanDuel first in handle, DraftKings first in revenue

The battle to be the best Indiana sportsbook was once again a two-horse race in July, with DraftKings and FanDuel each topping the other in the two most important metrics.

DraftKings Indiana came out on top in the battle for the biggest July handle with a reported $77.6 million in bets. However, the book did generate just under $7.4 million in revenues off of a 9.5% hold.

FanDuel Indiana was second in terms of July handle, but first in revenues. FanDuel took in $62.7 million worth of bets in July. But thanks to a whopping 13.6% hold, the sportsbook made a state-high $8.5 million in revenues.

BetMGM Indiana was the third most popular sportsbook in the Indiana market during July, with $19.9 million in bets and $2.4 million in revenues. Caesars Indiana came fourth with a $15.7 million handle and $1.6 million in revenue, and BetRivers Indiana rounded out the top five with $6.1 million in accepted bets and $670,000 in revenues.