Indiana continues to push forward with legalized sports gambling and now has a new contender in the state. SBTech, DraftKings, Caesars and others may already have a strong foothold, but PointsBet is coming in to threaten the competition. The Australia-based gambling operator just received a temporary vendor license from the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) to provide a mobile sportsbook to the Hoosier State. What happens now is still unclear.
At some point, the sportsbook is going to want to set up shop in the state; however, it isn’t sure when that might happen. According to a statement from PointsBet Director of Communications Patrick Eichner to Casino.org, “the PointsBet team is very excited to continue to increase our footprint. Indiana represents a state of great opportunity, and we look forward to providing more of the sports-loving folks in the Midwest with the premium product they deserve.” However, he was reluctant to add when a rollout might take place.
PointsBet has teamed up with Hollywood Casino to be a skin for the latter’s sports gambling operations. Hollywood Casino is owned by Penn National Gaming, and PointsBet signed a 20-year deal with the company to be its sports wagering affiliate in July of last year. PointsBet will run the casino operator’s sportsbooks in Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio and West Virginia, and Penn National, through a subsidiary, picks up a 5.3% stake in the company in return. Only Indiana and West Virginia, however, have already approved legal sports gambling.
In addition to the deal with Penn National, PointsBet also has sportsbooks in Iowa and New Jersey, and has other deals in place to move into Colorado, Illinois and Michigan. The expansion is made possible, in part, thanks to an initial public offering by the company last year, but it has still had to break out the wallet to secure its larger footprint. It saw an increase in revenue in its most recent fiscal year; however, earnings were down as it spent money to secure its future in the U.S.
Indiana’s sports gambling scene continues to improve, according to numbers released recently by the IGC. Last September was the first full month of legalized sports wagers and saw a modest return. October climbed higher, followed by a month-over-month increase of 60.6% in November. Part of the improvement can be attributed directly to the introduction of online sportsbooks, which happened in October.
