Indiana's sportsbooks are on a heater just like Frank Reich's Colts!

  • Indiana sportsbooks collected over half of their betting handle from football bettors.
  • The books located next to NFL teams were the most successful sportsbooks in Indiana.
  • Indiana now has the record for the highest betting handle during its launch month.

INDIANAPOLIS – The first month of Indiana sports betting is in the books. Last week, the Indiana Gaming Commission released its sports wagering report detailing the month of September.

While the industry was in its first month of operation, the success of the sportsbooks became clear almost instantly.

A total of $35.22 million was wagered at the 10 Indiana sportsbooks, officially making Indiana the state with the highest betting handle in their launch month. Obviously, some states launched mid-way through or near the end of the month and Indiana launched on the first day of September, but the record still holds true.

Of this $35.22 million, $20.73 million was risked on football events while another near $10 million ($9.77) was wagered on parlay cards. Baseball bettors also submitted action during the last month of the MLB regular season, accounting for a handle of $3.44 million.

From this handle, the books were able to hold $8.56 million as revenue, before contributing 9.5% ($813,103) to the state in the form of tax contributions.

Horseshoe Casino set the curve for the 10 Indiana sportsbooks, as the casino totaled the highest betting handle ($8.98 million) as well as the highest revenue ($2.08 million) of any sportsbook. Only Ameristar Casino, Harrah’s Hoosier Park, and Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg joined Horseshoe in having monthly revenue exceed $1 million.

Blue Chip Casino and Indiana Grand also showed a strong launch, taking in over $3.6 million in wagers individually, but both books fell just short in holding seven figures.

Betting on sports in Indiana is still very fresh, but these top sportsbooks all have one thing in common: the close-proximity to an NFL city or college town.

Horseshoe Casino and Ameristar Casino (30 minutes from Chicago), Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand (30 minutes from Indianapolis), Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg (30 minutes from Cincinnati), and Blue Chip Casino (45 minutes from South Bend) are thriving due to bettors from outside the state.

This influx of bettors has been seen in states like Iowa with Minnesota bettors, and also stems back to New Jersey with New York bettors before their legalization.

With this, expect to see the betting handle and revenue continue to rise throughout the NFL and college football season – whether the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, and Cincinnati Bengals play well or struggle.

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