Indiana Sportsbook Shows Resiliency With The Increase In May
Gamblers at Indian’s online and retail sportsbooks seemed more active in May when compared to April, which was considered as a welcome result after April’s month-over-month slowdown.
Even with the positive turn, Indiana’s sports betting market has to wait until the football season starts before the bettors volume starts to the highwaters marks earlier this year according to PlayIndiana.
An analyst from PlayIndiana.com, Nicole Russo, said, “Even with the expected slowdown over the last two months, no Midwestern state has held its ground better than Indiana. Some of that can be attributed to local events driving interest, including the Indy 500. But the market’s structural advantages that were built in before sports betting launched is also paying dividends.”
The bettor placed bets worth $254.4 million in wager during Mat at Indiana’s online and retail sportsbook, as per the reports released on Friday. The reported figure was up by 7.6% from $236.4 million in April, even though the handle reported in May remained well shy of $316.7 million handled in March.
The adjusted gross gaming revenue of May was reported to be $18.9 million which was down by 6.1% from $20.1 million in April while yielding $1.8 million generated as the state’s taxes. In May 2020, sportsbook and online retail generated was just $3.2 million revenue on $37.3 million bets placed.
The Indianapolis 500 helped to drive wagering in Indianapolis in May which was more than any jurisdiction. Indian sportsbook has always been taking an aggressive approach towards taking advantage of the opportunities such as aggressive promotional offering for the Indiana Pacers play-in tournament appearances which also helped push basketball betting to $82.4 million in May.
Jessica Welman, the analyst at PlayIndiana.com, said, “In open and competitive betting markets such as Indiana, sportsbooks have significant incentive to find alternative events to fuel bettor interest even while the sports calendar is slower. ”
She continues, “Whether that means heavy promotion of a Pacers play-in game or future innovations built around the upcoming Olympics, operators will do what they can to hold their market position. And ultimately, that’s good for the entire market.”
Online betting showcased a hike of 89.8% or $228.4 million of the state’s handle in May when compared to 88.4% in April.
DraftKings held up its grip in the online betting market with $81.8 million in online bets also yielding $2.9 million in gross receipts. Fandual was at $79.3 million in bets and topped in the market with $7.6 million in the net receipt.