Despite the positive impact of the Super Bowl last month, sportsbooks in Indiana posted a month-over-month decrease in betting handle and revenue, data released by the gambling regulator in the state, the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) reveals. In February, the total reported handle by licensed sports betting operators in the state was $408.7 million. This result, compared to the $356.2 million result reported in February last year, shows an increase of nearly 15%.
Moreover, last month, the total taxable adjusted gross revenue (AGR), posted by operators in Indiana was just short of $38 million. This result marked an increase of more than $10 million when compared to the $27.7 million in AGR reported for the corresponding period in 2023.
Despite the increase year-over-year, the result for February marked a decrease month-over-month. At the start of this year, in January, sports betting operators posted $480.6 million in betting handle and $53.5 million in taxable AGR, results that showed a decrease of 15% and 29% when compared to February.
Last month, taxes generated from sports betting hit $3.6 million. This result was a far cry from the $5.1 million in sports wagering taxes reported a month earlier, in January. Still, the $3.6 million in taxes posted for February represented an increase when compared to the $2.8 million figure from February last year.
Basketball Attracts the Most Wagers for February
A breakdown of the betting handle provided by the gambling regulator reveals that basketball was the most popular sport for wagers in February. In total, the betting handle for basketball wagers was $117.6 million, the most out of any other sport for the month. In contrast, despite the Super Bowl, football attracted only $14.1 million in wagers. Baseball was the sport that held the distant third place in popularity for February with $2.1 million in betting handle.
When it comes to revenue, Blue Chip Casino in collaboration with FanDuel reported the highest taxable AGR in February, $13.8 million. Although this was the best result in terms of revenue, the couple reported the second-best betting handle of $126.5 million.
The second-highest taxable AGR last month was reported by Ameristar Casino and its partner DraftKings. The duo’s February revenue hit $13.6 million and they reported the highest betting handle, $153.5 million.
Belterra Casino posted the third-highest betting handle of $31.3 million, a result that translated to $3.2 million in taxable revenue. Next in line was French Lick Resort which also enjoyed strong results with $30.7 million in betting handle and $3.5 million in revenue.