The already competitive mobile sports betting field in the state of Indiana added a new entrant Tuesday when the Indiana Gaming Commission approved Wynn Sports to be a third mobile online skin of Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun.
The WynnBET platform will be the 11th mobile app available in the Hoosier State, which has earned a top-five status nationally in handle on the strength of a robust online sports betting market. Indiana has set records each of the last five months, reaching more than $348.2 million in January in the most recent report available.
Since mobile sports wagering was first made available in October 2019, operators have surpassed $2 billion in handle. The mobile handle has accounted for nearly 80% of the more than $2.5 billion in wagers placed since sports betting became legal in Indiana in September 2019.
Rising Star becomes the third casino in Indiana to have two active mobile skins, joining Ameristar — home to DraftKings and theScore — and Horseshoe Hammond — which houses Caesars Online and Unibet. Rising Star also has BetAmerica, which rebranded itself as TwinSpires in January.
Full House Resorts, which runs Rising Star Casino, announced the deal to make WynnBET an online sports betting skin last October. Full House also signed a deal with the exchange wagering platform Smarkets last September.
Can Wynn Sports lift Rising Star’s online sports betting profile?
Wynn Sports is already active in Colorado, New Jersey, and most recently neighboring Michigan, with the Wolverine State launch taking place in mid-January as the online skin of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Wynn generated nearly $250,000 in handle in the first 10 days of operation and more than $27,500 in revenue.
Similar numbers, even over a full month, would be a welcome sight for Rising Star considering BetAmerica’s top monthly handle was just under $213,000 in February 2020 and $171,253 in January. BetAmerica was the fourth to market online in Indiana, but it has generated less than $1.4 million in handle since its late December 2019 launch and less than $58,000 in revenue.
By comparison, DraftKings paced mobile operators in January with more than $122.5 million in wagers accepted and nearly $9.4 million in revenue.
In terms of second skin operators, WynnBET will be competing with theScore and Unibet for top of class honors. TheScore has recently overtaken Unibet as the top performer, with the Canadian-based online book clearing $2 million in handle each of the last three months. That is a milestone the Kindred Group-owned book has yet to achieve in the Hoosier State.
Wynn’s entry into Indiana for sports betting also marks a potential start to playing the long game towards online casino gaming. Wynn has internet casino gaming available in both Michigan and New Jersey, but the earliest it could add Indiana to that list is 2022 after a pair of legislative bills introduced in January failed to clear the committee stage last month.
