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n July, Indiana topped $1 billion in total sports wagers since betting on many professional and college sporting events was legalized last September.
After a three-month casino shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Indiana casinos also recorded nearly identical win as July 2019, despite COVID-19 restrictions limiting the number of available slot machines and table game seats, according to data released Monday by the Indiana Gaming Commission. Even with just eight days of major sports, sports bettors wagered $70.9 million in July, up 137.9% from the $29.8 million sportsbooks accepted in June. July’s handle pushed Indiana’s total sports wagering handle over $1 billion in just 10 months.
July’s handle was Indiana’s best since it posted $74.8 million in March. July’s bets produced $6.7 million in adjusted gross revenue, up 127.9% from $2.9 million in May, and yielded $632,554 in tax revenue for the state.
“We’re very pleased with the July results,” said Dan Nita, general manager of the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond and regional president of its parent company, Caesars Entertainment, as reported by The Times of Northwest Indiana. “We continue to work very hard on providing a great entertainment escape for our guests, and over the last several weeks we continue to find ways to add to the experience.”
Since reopening June 15, Indiana casino patrons have been subject to body temperature checks and other COVID-19 screenings to enter, a mask-wearing requirement once inside, and strict capacity limits, including roughly every other slot machine turned off and no more than three or four players at most table games.
Nevertheless, last month’s $175.8 million in statewide casino win was just $10.1 million below Indiana casino win for July 2019, when none of the coronavirus restrictions were in place, according to the Gaming Commission.
After generating 98% of June’s bets, the online market accounted for 91.1%, or $64.5 million, of July’s handle. DraftKings/Ameristar Casino topped the online market again with $32.9 million in bets, up from $18.2 million in June. That produced $2.2 million in gross receipts, up from $1.6 million. FanDuel/Blue Chip Casino followed with $24.2 million in bets.
Retail sportsbooks are off to a slow start after reopening in June, producing a $6.3 million handle in July. Hollywood Lawrenceburg’s $2.7 million handle, up from $323,968 in July, led the retail market.
The $30.5 million in July win at the Horseshoe once again led all 13 state-regulated casinos, and was just $2 million less than what the Horseshoe took in during a very different July 2019, Gaming Commission data show. Nita said that was made possible working within the restrictions by, for example, spreading slot machines across the gaming floor in new configurations, repurposing the temporarily shuttered poker room for additional slots, and making sure the most in-demand games were available.
According to the Gaming Commission, Ameristar Casino in East Chicago ranked third statewide with $20.8 million in win last month, a $4.3 million increase compared to July 2019. Meanwhile, the Majestic Star casinos in Gary collected $11.4 million last month versus $12.6 million last July; and the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City recorded $9.2 million in July win compared to $13.2 million last year, a reduction due in part to the casino closing for daily cleaning between 4 and 8 a.m.
Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayIndiana.com, an online gaming news and research service, said absent the pandemic, and the temporary shut down of most professional sports, Indiana’s total sports wagering handle would be pushing $2 billion by now. “Indiana’s sportsbook operators have proven resilient in the face of a pandemic that completely upended the sports betting model, along with so much else,” Gouker said. “The industry is closing on a return to a more normal market that has the potential of a huge surge with a full month of baseball, basketball, and hockey and the potential return of football nearing.”
Gaming Commission data show 83.8% of the state’s sports wagers in July were placed at Northwest Indiana casinos, or through mobile sports wagering applications associated with Region casinos.
