Sports betting in Indiana is making a comeback. The July figures are in and as the NBA and MLB got back to work, so did sports bettors. The state saw a huge percentage increase in bets placed, with the handle coming in at 138% higher for the month, with $70.9 million in bets. The Indiana Gaming Commission provided the info, which puts the state at a huge jump since the $29.8 million earned in June.
MLB and NBA Assist:
Major League Baseball and the NBA helped to spur the increase in betting activity. In the US, sports have basically been non-existent since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Leagues took a break in order to slow the spread among team members and staff.
For the MLB, they got back to work on July 24. Even though this was the end of the month, it helped to kickstart sports betting in the state. There were also in-season NBA bets in the July figures as the league was back on July 30. Next month, even more sports will be included as the NHL started playing again on August 1.
Baseball brought in $14.5 million bets with Basketball bringing in just under $6 million. Football was in the mix as well, but only generated around $1 million in wagers.
Gambling.com Group’s VP of US Business, Max Bichsel, commented that the increase in handle for the state in July shows that they are on the right track to returning to pre-pandemic levels regarding sports betting.
Revenues for July:
As far as revenues are concerned, sports betting brought in $633,000 in tax revenues last month. This was contributed from $6.7 million in adjusted gross revenues. Players did place sports bets at gaming venues, but the majority were completed online. Of the total betting handle, $65 million came from online wagering.