Hoosiers Win More Sports Bets in May 2021

Smart Sports Wagers Pay Off in Indiana – Handle Up, Revenue Down

They say the proof is in the pudding. Well, there must be a lot of pudding filling dessert bowls across Indiana these days. By pudding, I mean money, and the cherry on top – more of that money is going to bet-savvy Hoosiers who picked up the pace last month. In May 2021, Indiana’s land-based and mobile sportsbooks handled a larger amount of wagers than in April, but also loss less revenue in their books. Less coming in means more going out, by way of winnings paid to customers.

Handle Up, Revenue Down: Smart Sports Wagers Paying Off

According to the latest reports from the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC), the state’s licensed sportsbooks saw a big boost in wagering handle for the month of May. Total handle rose to $254.4 million, up 7.6% compared to last month. At the same time, revenue from sports betting – that is, the amount the sportsbooks won from their customers – fell 5.5% to $18.9 million.

Not only are Hoosiers becoming more involved in sports betting activities, they’re making smarter wagers and winning more often.

Once again, basketball came in as the most popular sports to bet on. Of the approximate quarter-million in wagers placed throughout May, the highest margin – $82.4 million (33%) – was attributed to basketball betting. The second most popular sport to bet on was baseball, harvesting $50.5 million (20%) in wagers. Parlay combination bets were another favorite, hauling in $62 million (25%) worth of wagers.

Where Hoosiers Win More Sports Bets

While the revenue reports aren’t detailed enough to tell us what types of wagers are being won more often, we can deduce which sportsbooks Hoosiers are win more money at. It’s not a popularity contest, though. It’s not about which sportsbooks are bringing in and/or paying out the most money, but rather which bookie has the highest payout-to-intake ratio. That honor belongs to customers of Tropicana Evansville and its online betting partner, William Hill. Other honorable mentions go to Ameristar and its partner sportsbooks, DraftKings and theScore Bet, as well as French Lick Casino Resort and BetRivers Sports.

The chart below shows the total Handle and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for each of the state’s land-based casino sportsbooks, and their associate online betting partners (if any). The last column shows the Return To Player (RTP%, i.e. the percentage of wagers returned in winnings), based on those figures. Any RTP% that is above the median 92.59% is shown in green, with below average RTP% in red. Note that the RTP% is only an approximation, as the Handle may also include futures bets that were not finalized in the same month.