The Indiana Gaming Commission has announced the October sports betting report, and it was another record-setting month for the state. This is now the second straight month in which Indiana has set a new record after some disappointing months during the summer.
The total sports betting handle for October was $461.1 million, which was a jump of nearly 30 percent from September. This is the first time that Indiana has gone over the $400 million mark, and it was also a jump of 99.7 percent from the October 2020 total.
Online betting continues to lead the way in the Hoosier State, but it’s not quite as prevalent as in some other markets. The online betting handle was $412 million, which also shattered the previous record of $326.6 million.
Despite a huge jump in the total sports betting handle, the sports betting revenue saw a pretty significant drop. Total revenue was just $27.68 million in October after that number climbed up to $33.9 million in September.
The state was able to collect $2.63 million in tax revenue for the month of October, but that was also down from the $3.2 million in September.
Now Over $5 Billion Mark
With the record-setting month in October, the total sports betting handle in Indiana is now up over the $5 billion mark all-time. Sports betting in Indiana began in the Fall of 2019, and the state has seen significant growth since those first few months.
Indiana spent months as the leader in the Midwest portion of the United States, but Illinois and Michigan have now passed up the Hoosier State. This huge month of October should cement Indiana inside of the top-10 of all markets in the United States.
Basketball is King in Indiana
Football was once again the most popular sport to wager on in the state, but the launch of the NBA
season brought about the huge jump. Basketball was the most popular market for the first six months of 2021, and it should be that way again.
Betting on basketball accounted for $53.5 million for the month of October, and that total is only going to go up from there. Football brought in $175.8 million in wagers last month, and the National Football League action is not going to slow down anytime soon.
Iowa Also Sets Record
September saw a number of states set new sports betting handle records, and it appears that October is going to be more of the same. Iowa was the first state to announce its sports betting total, and that state
shattered a previous record with $280.9 million in total handle.
Of course, New Jersey set a new industry record in September as the total handle went over the $1 billion mark for the first time. Now that the NBA and NHL are in full swing throughout the country look for another large group of states to set handle records for the month of October.
