Another top sports betting brand is entering Indiana.
The Indiana Gaming Commission on Tuesday gave a mobile launch authorization to Wynn Sports to launch its WynnBET platform. The internet sportsbook will operate under the Rising Star Casino Resort and its casino license. The casino is owned by Full House Resorts and also has BetAmerica as an online skin for sports wagering in Indiana.
Wynn and Full House forged a sports betting partnership in 2019.
The WynnBET launch in the Hoosier State will follow its recent launch in Virginia. The book is pending launch in Tennessee. The app is also live in Michigan, Colorado, and New Jersey. The Michigan launch occurred in January alongside rival operators.
Indiana and Michigan have similar operator tax rates, which is important for sports betting states that share a border. However, Michigan has online casino gambling, so sportsbooks in Indiana would prefer bettors near the Indiana-Michigan border travel into the Wolverine State to gamble via the internet.
WynnBET will be able to capitalize on the final four rounds of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, which is being held in Indiana due to the ongoing pandemic and resumes Saturday.
WynnBET comes from Las Vegas-based casino operator Wynn Resorts. It’s worth noting that the name “Wynn” is from disgraced billionaire casino mogul Steve Wynn, who was accused of violent sexual misconduct during his career in Las Vegas. Regulators in the Silver State have taken steps to ban him from involvement in the industry. He no longer has a financial stake in the company he founded.
Wynn Resorts, however, has continued to bear his name. In Massachusetts, regulators forced the Wynn name off the firm’s casino there, located just outside the city of Boston.
Long road to market share
Sports betting is still about the long game, as most states still don’t have online/mobile legalized.
In Indiana, WynnBET will start off far behind the likes of DraftKings and FanDuel. In February, the most recent month of figures from the IGC, DraftKings led the way with $107,383,825 in mobile handle, followed by FanDuel in a distant second with $70,911,646. BetMGM was third with $33,013,203.
WynnBET — which will be the 11th mobile operator in Indiana — will likely find a spot around the likes of BetRivers, PointsBet, and William Hill, which are all top brands in the sector but second-tier in terms of awareness by the betting public. But, again, sports betting is still very new. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in mid-2018 opened the floodgates.
A recent survey in Michigan found that the majority of people can’t name a single sportsbook brand.
Indiana kicked off online sports betting in late 2019. Earlier this year, policymakers flirted with an online casino bill, but it didn’t gain traction.