Sports Betting Handle in Indiana Hits $206.6M in July

The Indiana Gambling Commission, the gambling regulator in the state, has announced the financial results posted by sports betting operators for July.

Sportsbooks in Indiana Report $206.6M in Betting Handle

Judging by the recent results, last month was the worst month in the year so far, when it comes to betting handle. Overall, the operators reported $206.6 million in betting handle, marking the lowest recorded betting handle for this year. Back in June, the sports wagering handle reported by operators in Indiana hit $256.3 million. When compared, the two results reveal that in July, the sports betting handle decreased by nearly 20%.

Despite the decrease in betting handle, taxable adjusted gross revenue (AGR) last month increased when compared to June. In total, the taxable AGR in July was $20.9 million, up 32% when compared to the taxable AGR of $15.8 million reported a month prior. It’s no surprise that with taxable AGR increasing, so did the taxes collected by the state’s coffers. In June this year, taxes collected hit $1.5 million, while last month, the taxes increased to nearly $2 million.

A breakdown provided by the Indiana Gaming Commission reveals that baseball was the most popular sport to wager in July. Sports bettors wagered a total of $76.1 million on baseball. Parlay bets were responsible for $53.5 million in betting handle, while $16.1 million and $2.9 million were reported for basketball and football respectively. The betting handle for “other” sports was $56.8 million.

Year-Over-Year Comparison Marks an Increase in Wagering Handle

Although the sports wagering handle last month was the worst for the year so far, a year-over-year comparison reveals that the result wasn’t that bad. In fact, when compared to July last year, the betting handle this year increased. Last year in July, licensed sportsbooks reported $194.5 million in betting handle. When compared to the $206.6 million reported this year, an increase of 6.2% is observed.

A year-over-year comparison for taxable AGR also marked another increase. Back in July 2021, the taxable AGR was $17.5 million. When compared to the result from this year, an increase of nearly 20% is observed. A similar increase was observed when comparing taxes paid by operators for last month. While this July, taxes hit $1,984,399, for the same period in 2021, only $1,658,052 was collected.

According to the recent report by the regulator, Blue Chip Casino reported the highest betting handle last month. In total, the venue reported $61.7 million in betting handle, while Ameristar Casino came in second with $61.3 million in betting handle for July. Belterra Casino reported $26.3 million in betting handle, marking the third-highest handle for last month.