Hoosier Sportsbooks See Expected Drop in February
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The Indiana Gaming Commission says nearly $410 million in wagers were placed in February at Indiana’s sportsbooks, which is a drop from January but up from $274 million wagered in the same month last year.
Analysts from PlayIndiana.com say the fact that February has fewer days in the month combined with a “significant loss of NFL inventory” meant month-to-month drop was expected.
February saw just over $30 million in wagers for football in Indiana, the majority of which were for the Super Bowl.
“As big as the Super Bowl is, there is no substitute for five full weekends of football games, as there were in January,” said lead analyst Jake Garza. “For that reason, February is always a slower month than January. Still, Indiana’s sports betting industry remains in excellent shape.”
Ameristar East Chicago Casino saw the largest take from sports betting with $127 million in wagers, followed by Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City with $108 million and Belterra Casino in Switzerland County with $54 million.
Last month, the state recorded more than $500 million in wagers, which was a record for the month of January.
Garza says as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship tournament draws near, it would not be surprising to see another record set in March, particularly with Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University in the mix.