Indiana’s sports betting numbers grew significantly in October 2019, with the handle climbing 160% to over $90 million compared to September. The introduction of mobile betting at the beginning of October directly impacted these numbers.
The clear winner of Indiana’s sportsbook market was the betting operator, DraftKings, which grabbed 43% of the total operating figures for the whole month – $39.3 million. Rival FanDuel Sportsbook only launched towards the end of October and thus took in $2.4 million of the bets. However, it will be interesting to note how the two groups perform when they’re on a level playing field, and for that we’ll have to wait to see November’s numbers.
BetRivers, however, launched at the beginning of October and failed to reach DraftKings’ numbers by a long shot – not that it expected to do so. The group reported $6.3 million in handle.
DraftKings works in East Chicago under the Ameristar Casino license, FanDuel has partnered with the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City and BetRivers Sportsbook operates under the French Lick Resort license.
Analysts point out that Indiana is quickly becoming a strong force to contend with in the legal US sports betting market. The Hoosier State is far ahead of its immediate neighbors (Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan) and is on the way to establish itself as the gambling capital of the Midwest.
In the meantime, Illinois is dragging its feet about authorizing a sportsbook, despite the fact that Governor JB Pritzker signed a sports betting law into effect earlier this year. In September, the state began a month-long public comment process, which the Gaming Board described as “an important step in a process to ethically and expeditiously establish a regulatory framework to allow sports wagering in Illinois.”
It is hoped that casino operators will be able to start applying for licenses next month, despite there being no official timeline for when Illinois will see sports betting go live.
