Sports betting has helped Indiana casinos, but as we have seen for months now, it was not enough to prevent another down month overall due to COVID-19.
The casinos and their respective sports betting platforms generated $190,596,025 in revenue last month, according to figures from the Indiana Gaming Commission. It was down from $196,178,991 in revenue in January 2020. While sports betting continues to grow in the state, the casino industry is still down overall due to the ongoing pandemic.
Casino win was $161,265,956 last month, down from $183,317,976 the same month a year prior.
Sports betting was up significantly year-over-year — more than double to be precise. After adjustments, the books reported winnings of $29,330,069 last month off $348,244,676 in handle. In January 2020, the books reported $12,861,015 in win off $170,813,254 bet.
Sports betting has helped the casinos, but not quite enough to counteract the impact of the pandemic.
Indiana’s gambling market has declined year-over-year in every month since March 2020, when the pandemic’s impact was first felt. The Hoosier State gambling market fell by about a quarter in 2020 compared to 2019. Sports betting arrived in the fall of 2019.
Indiana lawmakers are expected to take a look at online casino legislation on the table in Indianapolis, which would bring slots and table games to the web as well. Its chances this session remain unclear as of mid-February, but hearings are expected to take place.
Michigan, the Hoosier State’s neighbor, launched both online sports betting and casino last month.
