The many online and land-based sportsbooks in the American state of Indiana reportedly had a second consecutive record month in January after chalking up aggregated handle for the 31-day period of slightly over $500.1 million.

According to a Saturday report from the online news domain at PlayIndiana.com citing official information from the Indiana Gaming Commission, the January performance means that the Midwestern state has now set increasing all-time high handle figures in four of the last five months with January’s finishing tally being approximately 8% above the $463 million reckoning seen for December.

Annual advance:

Indiana is home to almost 6.8 million people and legalized retail sportsbetting in September of 2019 before subsequently allowing residents and visitors to place a wide range of online wagers. Last month’s handle figure reportedly also represented a rise of 43.6% year-on-year as this important benchmark exceeded the $500 million mark for the first time.

Main markets:

PlayIndiana.com reported that playoff action from the National Football League (NFL) helped to push the January handle figure to new heights by generating combined receipts of more than $118.3 million. However, the source went on to pronounce that this was soundly eclipsed by basketball as this sport produced an impressive $192.4 million in aggregated wagers although sportsbetting aficionados in ‘The Hoosier State’ even parted with in the region of $24,000 so as to lodge off-season baseball bets.

Prominent players:

As in December, the sports wagering services from DraftKings Incorporated and Penn National Gaming Incorporated reportedly led the way in terms of January handle with a combined tally of roughly $168.8 million while FanDuel Group came second with a reckoning of about $127.2 million. These were purportedly followed by Super Group Holding Company Limited’s SuperBet service and the BetMGM-branded innovation from MGM Resorts International and Entain with a combined figure that topped $55.4 million.

Optimistic outlook:

Looking into the future and PlayIndiana.com forecast that yesterday’s Super Bowl LVI gridiron contest between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals will likely have boosted the eventual handle figure for February. The source additionally asserted that sportsbetting aficionados in Indiana wagered around $18.7 million on 2021’s edition of this championship game although the ‘market has grown significantly since this time last year.’

Read a statement from PlayIndiana.com…

“Looking at what’s ahead for Indiana’s sportsbetting market and the Super Bowl will be the biggest numbers driver for the state in February. The big game is the largest single sportsbetting event of the year and plenty of ‘Hoosiers’ around the state will be wagering on the action. ‘Hoosiers’ are betting more money on sports in general, which will likely lead to an increase in Super Bowl betting as well.”