A competitive market with more than a dozen online sports betting operators is present in the Hoosier State, which has continuously been ranked among the top five sports betting states in the United States.
Basketball is the top-rated betting sport in Indiana, with football coming in second. The state is home to the Indiana Pacers, and residents of the Hoosier State have expressed their devotion for their hometown club on numerous occasions. Below, you can check out the top rated sports betting operators in Indiana.
Legal Indiana Online Sportbooks
The first Indiana online sportsbooks opened their virtual doors in October 2019, and the list has been growing ever since. Here’s a full rundown of all active and future books coming to the Hoosier State.
| ONLINE SPORTSBOOK | RETAIL PARTNER | TECH | LAUNCHED |
|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | Ameristar Casino | SBTech | Oct. 2019 |
| FanDuel | Blue Chip Casino | IGT | Oct. 2019 |
| BetRivers | French Lick Casino | Kambi | Oct. 2019 |
| BetMGM | Belterra Casino Resort | GVC | Feb. 2020 |
| PointsBet | Hollywood Casino | PointsBet | Mar. 2020 |
| Caesars Sportsbook | Horseshoe Hammond | Liberty | May 2020 |
| Unibet | Horseshoe Hammond | Kambi | July 2020 |
| WynnBET | Rising Star Casino | Scientific Games | Mar. 2021 |
| Barstool Sportsbook | Hollywood Casino | SportsGenius | May 2021 |
| Betway | Belterra Casino | Betway | June 2021 |
| Bally Bet | Bally’s Casino Evansville | Gamesys | Dec. 2021 |
| SBK Sportsbook | Rising Star Casino | Smarkets | March 2022 |
Frequently Asked Questions
IN has given each of the state’s casinos, racinos and off-track betting parlors the opportunity to purchase a sports betting license. What’s more, licensed operators can then host their own sports wagering websites and mobile apps.
So if you feel like reveling in the raucous atmosphere of a live sportsbook, you’ll have plenty of options. On the other hand, if you simply like the speed and convenience of betting from home, or on your mobile device, you can easily do that as well.
Each sports betting licensee has the option of partnering with up to three online skins. Therefore, factoring in the state’s 14 casinos/racinos and two off-track betting facilities, we could technically see as many as 48 total sports betting apps and brands hit the market. However, as sports betting is a low-margin business, it’s doubtful that so many brands could survive in a state with less than 7 million residents.
In order to bet, you must be physically present inside the boundaries of Indiana. However, that doesn’t mean you need to be a resident in order to play. In New Jersey, for example, players from neighboring states regularly travel into NJ to place bets, then quickly leave and turn back for home.
Alternatively, Indiana residents don’t have carte blanche to bet on sports from anywhere in the country – once they physically travel outside of the state, they will no longer be able to bet.
Online sportsbook operators rely on sophisticated geolocation software to pinpoint the location of each player. Desktop gamblers will need to install a small piece of software which will continuously ping their location. For those on mobile devices, operators will rely on built-in geo-tracking technology to verify your location. As soon as you travel outside of the state, your access to real-money betting will be cut off.
Everything from college sports to NFL, MLB, PGA, NBA, UFC and more is all on the table. The NCAA, which is coincidentally based in Indiana, is no fan of sports betting but was unable to block gambling on its events.
There are a few restrictions, however. Bets on esports and amateur youth sports is prohibited.
Unfortunately no, they are not. Indiana’s 2019 gambling bill legalized online sports betting only, so any internet casinos or poker sites which allow you to play from inside the state are doing so illegally. These sites are completely unregulated and can do with your money as they like, so exercise caution.
Players must be 21 years of age and above in order to bet on sports. Upon signing up, you’ll need to provide info confirming that you meet the requirement.
This goes in contrast to daily fantasy sports sites in the state, which only require players to be 18 years old.
No, absolutely not. Sports betting has been legalized in Indiana, but only qualified state gambling properties may apply for a license to become regulated. Any individual or unlicensed website taking bets in the state is doing so illegally.
No, daily fantasy sports sites let bettors mix and match players from several teams to create a cross-league roster. DFS players don’t battle against the house, they try and defeat other DFS competitors.
With sports betting, players can bet real money directly on the outcome of sporting events, individual plays, and much more.
A full suite of betting options are available in the Hoosier State, including:
- Moneyline
- Parlays
- Futures
- Over-unders
- Teasers
- Point spread
- In-play bets
- More
The Indiana Gaming Commission, the same body that oversees the state’s physical gambling centers, has been tasked with policing both live and online sportsbooks. Unlike offshore books, you can trust that your money is in safe hands when you gamble with an officially licensed online operator.
Indiana Sports Betting Law & History
Here are the highlights of the Indiana sports betting bill:
- Who can play: Anyone 21 years and up who is physically inside the state
- Betting locations: Casinos, racinos, off-track betting parlors or via Internet-connected devices such as computers and mobile devices
- Who will regulate: Indiana Gaming Commission
- Operator tax rate: 9.5%
- Licensing fee: $100,000 (plus $50,000 yearly)
- Where the taxes go: General Fund
Apart from legalizing sports betting, the legislation also allows for state racinos to spread table games, and this started back in 2020. The law also permits new casinos in Gary and Terre Haute.
Is this bill good for players?
Unlike bills we’ve seen passed in states like Pennsylvania and New York, both of which feature absurdly high tax rates, the Indiana bill sets a relatively good standard for both players and the industry.
First of all, gamblers now have the option of taking their action to a casino or OTB, or alternatively, simply playing from the comfort of home – or anywhere else inside the state, for that matter – on their mobile devices.
Some states have committed the folly of allowing sports wagering only at land-based facilities, which will do little to stop the proliferation of black-market sites, and will have a severe effect on tax revenue for the state. Case in point: mobile betting accounts for well over 80% of all legal sports wagers in the US market.
Another win for Indiana gamblers is the fact that they can register their betting accounts directly on their Internet-ready devices. Other states, like Nevada, have passed laws which force players to physically travel to a brick-and-mortar casino in order to sign up an account.
Indiana has also done a good job in terms of tax rate, charging a sensible 9.5%. This is in contrast to the Keystone State, which levies a whopping 36% tax on its operators, and Tennessee, which charges a 20% rate along with an annual $750,000 licensing renewal fee.
Lastly, the Hoosier state has authorized each casino licensee to serve as the umbrella for three online “skins” each. This gives players plenty of choice as to where they wager their hard-earned cash, and creates a highly competitive marketplace.
How did sports betting in Indiana come together?
Indiana has proven itself one of the more progressive states when it comes to allowing real money “betting” on sports-related events.
In early 2016, when daily fantasy sports companies were operating in something of a gray zone in the country, Indiana passed legislation legalizing the industry in the state. It was only the second state to do so, and saw other states follow its lead.
The bill was championed by Rep. Alan Morrison, and signed into law by then-Governor Mike Pence that February.
Fast forward two years, and Hoosier State lawmakers had set their sights on legalizing sports betting as well, even before the Supreme Court had made its decision to strike down the law mostly limiting the activity to Nevada.
Morrison was again at the forefront of the movement, filing a bill in January 2018 which would allow online betting and charge a tax rate of 9.25%.
A month later, legislators added language which would, for the first time, mention the notorious “integrity fee” that both the MLB and NBA have been lobbying so hard for. The original IN integrity fee would have awarded 1% of total handle to the leagues – which amounts to a massive cut of operator profits – so that the organizations could, ostensibly, better police their games.
Once the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May of that year, the push to legalize sports betting in the Hoosier State went into overdrive.
A new bill was soon introduced by Senators Mark Mesmer and John Ford, and the integrity fee was later nixed. Other ill-conceived proposals were also introduced and subsequently removed as well. For instance, during the legislative process, Sen. Ben Smaltz tried to ban betting via mobile devices, something which would have crippled the industry.
He was successful in getting the option stripped from the bill for a time, but the activity was reinserted into the legislation later on during a conference committee.
On April 24, a repackaged bill, H 1015, passed the Senate by a vote of 37-12 and the House by a 59-36 margin. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law a few weeks later, making Indiana the tenth state to legalize sports betting.
We saw the first online sportsbooks go live in early October 2019 and since then we have seen over a dozen sportsbooks get online.