There are those that still think there’s nomoney to be made in sports gambling. They hold onto their belief like a man holds onto his last drop of water while lost in the middle of the desert. Nevada and New Jersey have already shown how lucrative the activity can be, and Indiana is now proving to be a hotbed of sports wagers. As more states continue to accept the truth and legalize sportsbooks, all will continue to become more self-sufficient. Those who don’t will find themselves struggling, unsure of how to make ends meet.
According to the latest data from the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC), Indiana’s sports gambling industry was worth $91.7 million in October. That’s a huge 160% jump from the previous month, which saw just $35.2 million, and most of the handle comes from the acceptance of mobile applications for wagers. Not bad for an industry that only started in September.
Three mobile apps were introduced in October as the IGC gave its approval. DraftKings was the leader, taking the lion’s share of Indiana’s handle with $39.4 million. The sports gambling operator has a partnership in the state with Ameristar Casino in East Chicago and continues to beat expectations as it launches new services across the country.
Next in line was BetRivers from Rush Street Interactive with $6.3 million. It was introduced on October 3 and is a skin for French Lick Casino. After that, FanDuel’s Blue Chip Casino skin saw a handle of $2.4 million. Given that it only launched nine days before the end of the month, the take is impressive.
Gamblers appear to have been the big winner, as the adjusted gross revenue only increased 34% over the previous month. Still, at $11.5 million – compared to the $8.6 million a month earlier – there’s nothing to cry about. The state received $1.1 million in taxes from that amount; if Indiana keeps that up, there’s a minimum of $12.12 million in tax revenue to be generated.
Granted, cost of administration of the activity has to be deducted, but without that, there is still a lot of revenue. If it costs Indiana more than $1.5 million to administer the program, it’s doing something wrong, and, at that amount, Indiana now has another $10.6 million to fund its programs. That’s just the beginning numbers, too – things will only grow from here.
Football, as had been predicted, was the most popular gambling options. Single-game, in-game and futures bets on football contests, both at the pro and college levels, saw $41 million, according to the IGC. September and October received a total of $63.6 million in football wagers. After that, baseball followed with $10.5 million, perfectly timed with the World Series, and basketball saw $6.2 million. All other sports combined for $12.3 million.
Even apart from the financial gain legalized sports gambling offers the states, there’s another benefit that seems to be beyond the grasp of detractors. Gambling is going to take place, legal or not. This has already been proven and has always existed. Even under the iron fist of Tsar Alexis in Russia in the 17th Century, when gambling was completely illegal and law violators found their ears chopped off, there were underground casinos.
While the penalties may no longer be that severe, there are still plenty of risks associated with illegal gambling and legalizing the activity is the only way to protect consumers.
