Indiana’s Sports Betting Handle Doubles from June to July

Sports betting results in July soared in Indiana, posting a significant improvement over June. Indiana posted $70.9 million in total betting handle, or up 138%.

Indiana Sees MLB and NBA Power up Betting Activity

Indiana has become the latest state to see a surge in sports betting activity in July after a long hiatus and the suspension of most sporting events back in March. The total sports handle generated in the state reached $70.9 million, the Indiana Gaming Commission revealed, constituting a 138% increase.

The results have improved significantly from the modest $29.8 million placed in wagers back in June. One of the events to drive engagement was Major League Baseball, which restarted on July 24 and served as an outlet for pent-up betting demand.

On July 30, the NBA restarted the season, with a few bets injecting into July’s sports handle. The results, however ought to be much higher in August, industry insiders say. Still, July’s results are playing catch-up to February’s $187.2 million betting handle.

However, February also had the Super Bowl, arguably one of the largest sports betting events in the United States. The current numbers also exclude the NHL, as the season only restarted on August 1.

Baseball Turns a Driver of Sports Betting in July

Not surprisingly, the few days of baseball activity in July also proved to be the biggest driver of revenue. Baseball handle reached $14.5 million and basketball saw a little shy of $6 million placed in the two days of operations.

Now, while baseball drew the biggest chunk of the activity, basketball was also essential in contributing to revenue. The few games of activity had a significant impact on the sports handle not just in Indiana, but elsewhere in the United States.

For example, Pennsylvania surpassed Nevada in terms of sports betting handle in July, marking a new high. Back in Indiana, the sports handle proceedings generated $633,000 in tax revenue for the state.

Casinos generated $6.7 million in gross revenue with the rest being paid out to winners. Another interesting thing to notice is the mode of betting.

Indiana Goes Mobile Amid the Pandemic

With the option in place, the majority of punters have not hesitated to pounce at the opportunity and place their bets through a mobile device or online. In fact, an estimated $65 million of the total betting handle was placed via mobile.

The only property to not actually post better results on mobile than they did on mobile was Hollywood Lawrenceburg, which collected $2.7 million in over-the-counter bets and only $1.1 million through its mobile betting platform.

The good news is that with the adoption of mobile betting opportunities, there are more good things coming. In August, sportsbooks will start accepting pre-season NFL bets, which will contribute to the revenue further.

Even though football bets amounted to merely $1 million in July, this number is now set to improve quickly. The betting handle should reach pre-pandemic levels as early as August or September.