Indiana sportsbook revenue and handle continued to decline due to novel coronavirus (Covid-19), with sportsbooks in the state reporting revenue of $1.6m for April, down 71.7% from March.
Betting handle declined to $26.3m, 64.8% below March’s figure, which was already down 60% from February. Both revenue and handle figures were record lows since sports betting became legal in Indiana on 1 September 2019.
The state took in tax of $148,189, down 71.6%.
With no retail sportsbooks open, all bets were placed online. Online handle was down 57.7% from March and online revenue fell 66.6%.
Penn National Gaming’s Ameristar Casino, partnered with DraftKings, took in more than half of the state’s revenue and handle, at $957,962 and $13.6m respectively. However, revenue was 64.5% below March while handle fell 61.2%.
Blue Chip Casino, with its FanDuel-branded sportsbook, came second with handle of $9.7m, down 56.5%. After a high margin in March, revenue fell 73.3% in April to $427,122.
French Lick Resort, whose sportsbook is operated by Rush Street Gaming, was the only other sportsbook with a handle of more than $500,000, with players betting $2.1m, down 43.8%. The sportsbook took in revenue of $116,284.
The other casinos to take bets were Belterra Casino, Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg and Full House Resorts’ Rising Star Casino.
While all of the major sports leagues in the US remain suspended, handle on bets on football increased thanks to the NFL draft, with bettors staking $1.3m on the sport. Basketball and baseball saw only $9,984 and $4,981 in bets respectively.
Bettors wagered $4.0m on parlays, while other sports brought in the vast majority of handle, at $21.0m, reflecting the shift to betting on events that were previously less popular.