The hoops-loving Hoosier State had a mammoth month of mobile sports wagering thanks to March Madness and over $274 million in basketball wagers.
In March, sports betting in Indiana added up to $476,802,783 in handle, according to the latest numbers released by the state gaming commission. This brings the state's year-to-date total handle to more than $1.3 billion. The monster month blew by February’s $409 million handle but fell just shy of the Midwestern state’s record-setting month of over $500 million in January.
March's revenue of nearly $32.3 million shattered February's take of $17 million, bringing the yearly total to roughly $80 million. The hold percentage for March was approximately 6.8%, up from 4.1% the month before.
Indiana took in close to $3.1 million in tax dollars, almost doubling February’s number of $1.6 million and bringing the yearly tally to around $8 million.
Market dominated by familiar four
FanDuel and DraftKings continued to own Indiana’s legal sports betting market, accounting for over $280 million of the month’s overall handle.
The online sportsbooks had a combined increase of over $50 million in March and outpaced the next two closest operators — BetMGM and Caesars — by a margin of almost three-to-one. The latter two brought in handles of around $56.2 and $54.9 million, respectively.
Other notables included Barstool Sportsbook, BetRivers, and PointsBet, each bringing in between $10 million and $14 million on the month.
Madness is done, but NBA playoffs are here
It’s no secret that Indiana has long loved its hoops. And while March Madness, the biggest basketball betting event of the year, might be finished, there are still nearly two months of NBA playoff parlays ripe for the picking.
After throwing down $274,082,462 in hoops bets in March, the Hoosier State has now had over $668 million of action on the hardcourt for the year.
To put that in perspective, football has had roughly $150 million in wagers since the beginning of the year, while baseball is understandably a distant third.
As usual, parlays continue to be a sportsbook’s best friend, piling up over $121 million in March and reeling in over $344 million on the YTD.
Can Indiana continue its momentum into the spring?
Indiana should continue to see strong numbers over the next couple of months thanks to a long NBA postseason and an MLB campaign that is just about to dig in.
The state is likely breathing a sigh of relief that baseball's 99-day lockout ended at the 11th hour, paving the way to tide the state over during the summer months between the heavy-betting basketball and football seasons.
