Indiana totals $34.5m in first month of legal sports betting

Casinos in Indiana reported their financial results from September, which is their first full month of sports betting activity.

US.- The Indiana Gaming Commission has released the financial report from September operations, which recorded the first full month of sports betting activity in the state. The data shows that sports fans bet more than US$34.5 million in September.

Football was the biggest sport in the state in September, accounting more than US$20.7 million. That figure represents 60% of the money wagered on sports during last month’s operations. Besides football, wagers on the outcome of other sports totalled 28% of the market, followed by baseball’s 10% and basketball’s 2% of the sports betting market in September.

Handle in Indiana totalled US$35.2 million, which is higher than what retail sportsbooks generated in August (US$25.8 million). It is also four times higher than what Iowa reported last month.

Dan Nita, regional president for Caesars Entertainment, which launched sports betting at the four casinos in the state, said the level of interest and excitement encourage the company. “Getting these things opened was terrific,” he said.

“There’s a lot more foot traffic coming into the (Hammond) property to place their wagers. We saw upticks in food and beverage revenue, a little bit of the slots and little bit more in tables. In the spirit of rising tides lift all boats, adding a new amenity benefited many facets of our business.”