The Hoosier State closed out a strong year with $463m in betting handle for the final month of 2021, just short of November’s record-setting performance.
December betting fell below the prior month’s $463.7m in handle as wagering volume slowed to $14.9m per day, down from November’s $15.5m per day.
But all-in-all, the Midwestern state had a good year. It produced nearly $4bn in wagers for the 12 months of 2021, according to PlayIndiana, with football responsible for most state-wide handle at over $618m, though basketball generated the largest handle for December at $148m.
“This fall has been so impressive for sportsbooks that it almost seems like anything other than a record month is a surprise,” remarked PlayIndiana.com analyst Jake Garza
“In context, sportsbooks remained near all-time highs for wagering and revenue, continuing a remarkable four-month stretch in which wagering was up 73.8% year over year.”
Online wagering was responsible for $422.8m or 91.3% of December’s total handle. DraftKings led Indiana’s online market, with $148.2m in bets for the month, winning $6.4m in gross receipts from those bets.
Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA Network, commented: “2021 should be remembered as the year in which people fully embraced online sports betting, especially after a tumultuous 2020.
“As impressive as the year was, though, the market is not done growing. Sportsbooks are still reaching new customers and operators are offering increasingly innovative products.
“Meanwhile, Hoosiers are becoming more comfortable with sports betting in general, and more open to less conventional forms of wagering such as in-game betting.”
