Indiana Sports Betting Breaks Another Handle Record in November

Posted on: December 13, 2021, 10:52h. 

Last updated on: July 26, 2022, 11:51h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

November proved to be another record month for sports betting in Indiana.

Indiana basketball
Indiana Hoosiers star Tracye Jackson-Davis goes in for a dunk during a home game against Big Ten rival Minnesota last February. The new college basketball season tipped off last month and likely helped Indiana’s sportsbooks generate a record $463.7 million in handle for November. (Image: IU Athletics)

Buoyed by the start of the college basketball season, the retail sportsbooks and online apps generated a handle of $463.7 million for the month, according to figures from the Indiana Gaming Commission. It marked the third straight month the state set a record handle, beating October’s handle by about $2.6 million.

Football was still the No. 1 sport, according to an unaudited handle breakdown provided by the IGC. But the $136.3 million wagered in November was down nearly 22.5 percent from the $175.8 million bet on college and pro football games the month before. One thing that helped boost October’s handle was the fact there were five weekends of football games that month, compared to four for November.

But as football dropped, basketball shot up from $53.5 million in October to $132.1 million last month. That represented an increase of about 147 percent.

November a Winning Month as Revenues Rise Sharply

While the handle increased by less than 1 percent from October to November, taxable adjusted gross revenue (AGR) skyrocketed by $20 million. The $47.7 million earned by the sportsbooks represented a 72.2 percent jump from October.

Speaking at the Canaccord Genuity Digital Gaming Summit two weeks ago, DraftKings Co-Founder and CEO Jason Robins noted that nationally, October’s NFL games were very good for bettors.

November has been reported publicly to be a very strong month for books on the whole side, and October was a record low month going into the last week,” he said. “So, it’s just kind of the way it works. It swings both ways, and over the course of time, it all evens out.”

DraftKings has been the leader in Indiana in terms of handle since online gaming started there in October 2019. Last month, the sports betting app generated a handle of $166.2 million, with revenues totaling $12.6 million. The company’s handle rose by $14.5 million and revenues rose by $4.8 million.

FanDuel saw its handle dip to $109.8 million in November from $113.3 million the month before. However, it still generated the most revenue. At $15.6 million, FanDuel’s winnings rose by more than 69 percent from October’s $9.2 million.

The $47.7 million in sportsbook revenues translated to $4.5 million in wagering taxes for Indiana.

Hard Rock Continues Its Roll as Leading Casino

On the casino side, the IGC’s monthly report shows that Indiana’s newest casino again the top winner among the dozen gaming venues.

Thanks to strong table play, Hard Rock Northern Indiana reported an AGR of almost $29.4 million for November. The Gary casino’s total beat Horseshoe Hammond by less than $340,000.

Hard Rock’s $9.2 million in winnings from table games was the best in the state, while Horseshoe’s $22.3 million in revenues from slots and other electronic games ranked first among the casinos

The 12 casinos across the state reported a combined AGR of $184.2 million for November, down from the $201.9 million they posted in October.