According to data released by the Indiana Gaming Commission, bettors in the state wagered more than a half-billion dollars on sporting events in January, setting a new monthly record for statewide sports betting that could be potentially broken again once February’s bets are added up.
Indiana casinos and their online sports wagering affiliates handled $500.1 million in sports bets last month, surpassing the monthly record of $463.7 million set in November by nearly 8%.
Sportsbook revenue for January totaled $35 million, of which $3.4 million was paid to the state in accordance with Indiana’s 9.5% sports wagering tax, according to the report.
The Commission’s data shows basketball was the top sport for Indiana wagers in the first month of the year, accounting for nearly 39% of all sports bets. Multi-game or multi-sport “parlay” bets comprised about 25% of wagers, followed closely by football at 24%.
Ameristar Casino's Barstool Sportsbook
Ameristar Casino in East Chicago had the highest sports wagering handle in the state with $168.9 million, accounting for 34% of the statewide total, primarily through its online DraftKings affiliate. Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City was the runner up with $127.2 million, or 25% of the statewide total, mostly through its online FanDuel affiliate.
In-person sports bets were highest in January at Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, located 26 miles west of Cincinnati, at $13.2 million.
Eric Ramsey, an analyst for PlayIndiana.com, commented: “Indiana continues to punch above its weight class, remaining a model of success and a role model for other states to follow. As an example, Ohio regulators have drafted a particularly strong framework for that state’s impending launch of sports betting, and it is no coincidence that it draws upon the blueprint Indiana put together years ago”.
Lead analyst for PlayIndiana, Jake Garza, anticipated football will be dominant in February as sports fans bet on the Super Bowl: “Sports books benefited greatly from the extra week of regular-season games, and the expanded NFL playoffs were a winner for sports books. The month will likely be the high water mark for the foreseeable future, unless the NCAA Tournament can draw comparably huge numbers, too”.
Statewide casino win for January totaled $190.1 million, a 13.4% increase compared to the $167.6 million in statewide win recorded in January 2021, according to the IGC.
Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
When it comes to tax wagering revenue, Indiana collected $50.2 million from bets placed at table games and slot machines in the state’s 12 commercial casinos, especially at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, whose $49.4 million in January table game play exceeded the combined monthly table game play at the state’s five Ohio River casinos and the French Lick Casino.
Baccarat was the most popular game at the Gary casino, attracting nearly $1 million a day. In fact, the $29.9 million wagered on baccarat at Hard Rock in January exceeded the $29.6 million in total table game play last month at the state’s former top gaming destination, Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.
Hard Rock was also the leader in slot machine play for the first time since opening in May 2021. Its $214.4 million in slot machine revenue surpassed Horseshoe, which saw $211 million last month.
After paying winning bettors, Hard Rock saw $30.1 million in January win, Horseshoe collected $28 million, Ameristar took in $16.3 million, and Blue Chip bagged $9.6 million.
As reported by ShelbyNews, Matt Schuffert, president of the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, said: “Despite the weather, we had our busiest month on the tables, led by incredible volumes in baccarat. Our baccarat gaming space, complemented by our YouYu Noodle Bar, continues to receive incredible feedback from our customers as the place to play baccarat in Chicagoland. We continue to add additional slots to our gaming floor, and it was exciting to see us become the volume leader in slots in January”.
“We have more additions coming to our slot floor over the next several weeks, based on customer feedback, which should complement our existing gaming floor very well”, he added.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/02/14/61384-indiana-sets-new-record-in-january-with–500m-sports-betting-handle
