Sports Betting Heating Up in the Midwest
After a couple of slow sports betting months over the summer, sports betting has heated back up, especially in the Midwest. Three Midwest states recently announced sports betting numbers, and all three of the states continue to see growth.
Illinois is the clear leader when it comes to the Midwest, but that doesn’t mean that other states aren’t seeing growth as well. Indiana and Iowa were in the first wave to launch in the Midwest, and those two states continue to have solid markets.
This sports betting push should continue into the New Year, and things usually don’t slow down until after the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is over.
No Stopping Illinois
When it comes to sports betting in the Midwest, the state of Illinois is the clear leader. The Illinois Gaming Board is always slow to announce sports betting figures, and the October report was just released.
Illinois went over the $1 billion mark in monthly handle for the first time in October, becoming just the fourth state in the U.S. to hit that number. Illinois and New Jersey continue to battle it out for the second spot on the list behind New York.
What makes the numbers even more impressive for Illinois is that the state is still operating with just seven online sportsbooks. There hasn’t been a new sportsbook launch since early March, and it’s unclear when the next operator is going to enter the state.
Not only did Illinois sportsbooks see plenty of action, but the total revenue for the month was over $100 million as well. Illinois continues to face stiff competition from other states in the Midwest, but it continues to stand out.
Indiana Thriving While Iowa Hit Hard
With another impressive handle total in the month of November, Indiana is now over the $10 billion mark in lifetime handle since 2019. Indiana is now just the 6th state in the U.S. to go over that mark, and has consistently been right around the top 10 for the duration of 2022.
Sportsbooks in November recorded over $452 million in handle for the month, but that was lower than the handle from November 2021. Indiana sportsbooks posted a win rate of 8.8%, but just missed out on a third straight month with at least $40 million in revenue.
And while the numbers for Indiana were impressive across the board, it’s hard to get a real gauge on how the month of November played out for Iowa because two sportsbooks were forced to pay out on massive bets to “Mattress Mack,” the overall revenue numbers for the state sunk.
FanDuel and DraftKings continue to post impressive numbers in the state of Iowa, but the overaSports Bettingll mobile numbers were not great. Iowa has retail sports betting as well, and the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs continues to lead the way in handle.
