Indiana’s Drop in Sports Betting Sales

By Matt Speakman,
Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

Matt Speakman Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

A die-hard fan of the Patriots, Matt Speakman is an expert on everything related to sports betting and DFS sites. Over the years, he has proven a valuable asset for our team at online-gambling.com. You can find Speakman's professional tips and tricks in any of his many articles on the website.

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Last updated: June 15, 2024

Indiana’s sports betting take has fallen for two months in a row, much to the dismay of those in the industry. Sports betting experts have noted surprise that this has been the case despite an exciting addition to the sports scene, with WNBA players Caitlin Clark joining Indiana Fever.

The Downward Trend in Spend

In May, betting spend was $361.6 million, which represented 8.2% drop from that of April. It is a disappointing turn, though it should be noted that year-on-year figures are more positive. May 2024’s spend was 27.6% more than that of May 2023.

A closer look at the numbers reveals that basketball continues to be the most popular sport for betting, representing nearly $100 million of the take in May. Still, this figure also dropped by almost 20% in comparison to April’s numbers, though showing an increase compared to May 2023.

Baseball comes second in the list, raking in $73.7 million. American football is a faraway contender in the third space with $1.7 million. However, $86.7 million total was bet on various other smaller sports.

Though we have been looking at spend, revenue is another matter. Revenue in May was $39 million, which actually represents an increase of 5.1% from April. This also is an increase from May 2023.

Taxes and Partners

Despite some disappointing trends, Indiana continues to collect tax from the sports betting industry and May totaled $3.7 million in taxes. This is lower than Indiana’s first month, however this was driven by an influx of new bettors on the newly legalized market.

The most successful betting outlet this month was FanDuel, partnered with Blue Chip Casino, as it was in April. DraftKings, with partner Ameristar Casino, ranked second in terms of revenue, though it ranked higher in terms of overall wagers taken. Belterra Casino (which also works with FanDuel) came in third.

The Caitlin Clark Story

Caitlin Clark is considered a rising star of women’s basketball and her recent addition to Fever has caused quite a stir. However, Clark is also in the news for other reasons lately, namely in regard to the next Olympic team.

The roster for the 2024 team was released recently, but Clark was not present on the list, meaning she will not compete for the US in Paris this summer.

Some have been critical of this decision, saying it is a missed opportunity, given Clark’s immense popularity. However, the chair of the selection committee, Jen Rizzotti, responded to these comments in a discussion with AP.

Jen Rizzotti said, “It would be irresponsible for us to talk about [Clark] in a way other than how she would impact the play of the team. Because it wasn’t the purview of our committee to decide how many people would watch or how many people would root for the U.S. It was our purview to create the best team we could for Cheryl [Reeve, head coach].”