With not a lot to do during a global pandemic, Indiana residents have spent a lot of time on sports betting, which has led to another month of record-breaking numbers.
Bettors in Indiana spent $348.2 million on sports betting — the fifth straight month that the state has set a personal record. This is significantly up from December’s $313.1 million.
To put this into perspective, $171 million was spent on sports betting in the state in January 2020.
The January 2021 number was announced this week as the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) released their monthly report on in-state gambling.
Most of the money spent came from online betting, which has been growing in popularity around the United States over the last year. After all, it’s easier to bet from home than it is in-person as of late.
Online betting made up for $296.5 million of January’s total, which is over 85 percent. Currently, Indiana has nine regulated sportsbooks that have helped make up this number.
What makes Indiana’s numbers more impressive is the fact that there’s competition happening with neighboring states, such as Illinois and Michigan, where sports betting is also popular.
Indiana Bettors Love Basketball
Out of all the sports that Indiana residents could bet on, it looks like basketball was the most popular throughout January.
Over $133 million was wagered on basketball in January 2020, and that includes both NBA and NCAA bets.
The NBA season is still young and there are dozens of options for bettors, from betting on daily games to future bets, which include picking the NBA Champion or individual award winners.
Meanwhile, college teams are making a push to improve seeding as the NCAA’s March Madness tournament is right around the corner. Basketball could also see a boost in the coming months, considering the entire March Madness tournament will be held in Indiana.
What else is being bet on?
Parlays were also quite popular across Indiana over January, with bettors spending $86 million on them.
As the NFL reached its road to the Super Bowl in January, football became the second-most bet on single sport in Indiana.
Bettors wagered $77 million on football (both NFL and NCAA) games, which will probably change significantly in February’s report once the Super Bowl numbers roll in.
For example, prior to Super Bowl 55, the American Gaming Association (AGA) estimated that bettors across America were set to wager over $4 billion on football’s biggest event.
Baseball was the third-most-popular single sports that residents bet on in January.
Bettors wagered $56,797 on baseball and while this number may seem low, keep in mind that the MLB is in its offseason and the 2021 season is expected to start on April 1.
