On Friday, the Indiana Gaming Commission allowed its sportsbooks to start taking bets on the NBA Draft Lottery, set to be held June 22. The Draft Lottery was added to the state’s list of approved wagering events.
That’s in addition to the NBA Draft itself, which takes place July 29.
In other words, Hoosiers will be able to bet on the draft order and later which players are selected.
The state of Indiana has shown since it launched sports betting in late 2019 that it is looking to be on the cutting edge of the growing industry.
Basketball state
Indiana is known well as a basketball state, mainly through the iconic Indiana Hoosiers college team. Through the first fourth months of 2021, Indiana sportsbooks handled $710,681,644 on basketball, 29.5% of the total of $2,406,831,083 wagered on sports. Indiana ranks fifth in handle nationally through the first four months of 2021 with nearly $1.2 billion worth of bets placed.
The Pacers finished ninth in the Eastern Conference this year. Unfortunately for people in Indiana, the team probably won’t be that exciting for either the NBA Draft Lottery or NBA Draft night, but perhaps the team will make some moves. Some fans are calling for the team to trade up.
The Pacers are projected to pick 13th.
A recent Sports Illustrated mock draft has the team taking forward Kai Jones from Texas.