Indiana’s upcoming sports betting industry continues to take shape.
On Monday, Penn Sports Interactive, LLC, an offshoot of Penn National Gaming, Inc., was issued a temporary vendor license for sports betting in the Hoosier State. Penn National Gaming owns and operates the Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, located just outside Cincinnati, Ohio. In mid-July, that casino was awarded a temporary certificate of authority for sports wagering.
Penn National Gaming told Hoosier State Bets that the vendor license issued Monday is related to the upcoming retail sportsbook. The book is expected to open next month.
“We will have an update on the timing of our online sportsbook plans later this year,” a spokesperson said.
Late last month, Penn National Gaming announced a blockbuster new deal related to online gambling, under the wholly-owned subsidiary Penn Interactive Ventures, the interactive division of PNG.
The subsidiary will manage new online gambling skin relationships with DraftKings, PointsBet, theScore, and The Stars Group. The deal applies to nearly 20 markets or potential markets.
Regulations still in draft stage
The Indiana Gaming Commission is moving quickly to finalize regulations for brick-and-mortar sports betting to begin early next month, around the start of the NFL season. The regulations are expected to be ready at the end of this month. Regulators also released a list of approved sports.
Online/mobile sports betting could potentially come to Indiana later this year, and it appears Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg could be in the mix for a 2019 launch.
Penn National kicked off brick-and-mortar sports betting in Pennsylvania in November, under a partnership with William Hill, but it has yet to launch online betting in the Keystone State.
The Indiana sports betting law, which was signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in May, allows up to three online sports betting skins per casino. The law doesn’t allow online casino gambling.
Other casinos, including at least two from Caesars, are also expected to launch brick-and-mortar sports betting next month. Indiana has 13 brick-and-mortar casinos/racinos.
