Indiana sports betting takes expected hit in April

Sports betting in Indiana saw a more than 25% drop in April compared to the previous month with a total of more than $321 million in wagers.

Gaming analysts from PlayIndiana.com report, however, the decrease was expected as April is typically a slower month, and Ohio opening sports betting earlier this year has cut into Indiana’s totals.

April’s wagers were also lower than the same month last year, dropping 10.7%.

Basketball wagers accounted for the most bets from a single sport with $90.3 million, which was still 30.1% lower than the previous year. Only baseball saw a year-over-year increase in bets with $61.2 million.

PlayIndiana said 2023 is likely to become the first year that the state’s total sports betting handle will be lower than the previous year, citing the lack of tourism draws compared to neighboring states, as well as Ohio launching its sports betting operations and Kentucky legalizing sports betting earlier this year.

However, tax revenue from sports betting last month totaled $2.8 million, bringing Indiana’s total to nearly $13 million, up 20% over 2022.