September and October are always big months for states with legal sports betting, and that trend held true in 2023 as well. The total national sports betting handle just continues to set records, and new states are also joining the market in the United States.
The Midwest portion of the country is loaded with sports betting markets, including the states of Kentucky and Indiana. Kentucky just recently launched online sports betting while Indiana has had online sports betting for years.
There was a worry that Kentucky would start to steal some business from Indiana, but that hasn’t happened yet. The online sports betting numbers in Kentucky were strong right out of the gate, but sportsbooks in Indiana didn’t exactly see a dip in the numbers.
Kentucky Sees Strong Launch
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has announced sports betting numbers from September and October, and the market clearly got off to a strong start. The total sports betting handle for the first two months came in at $340.8 million, and that number is a bit deceiving.
Online sports betting in Kentucky didn’t even launch until September 28th, while the retail sportsbooks went live on September 7th. This state is expected to put up some solid retail sports betting numbers, but they won’t compare to what people end up wagering online.
Not only did the online sportsbooks in Kentucky have some success right away, but those sportsbooks also performed well against the public. The hold rate was over 18% during the month of October, and that’s well above the national average that is sitting right around seven percent.
The strong handle for the month of October currently has Kentucky in 13th place, but they are going to fall down a couple of notches after all of the states report. There are seven online operators in Kentucky right now, but that number is expected to grow over time as well.
As expected, it was FanDuel and DraftKings that had the most handle and revenue for the month, but other operators performed well. Those two operators are expected to battle it out for the top spot, and when it comes to handing out promotional credits.
Indiana Sets New Record in November
The Indiana Gaming Commission is always one of the first states to announce monthly totals, and the November report is already out. November was a record-setting month for the sportsbooks in the state as the total handle climbed all the way up to $513 million.
Not everything was positive for the sportsbooks in Indiana though as the hold rate was the lowest that it has been in 21 months. There was plenty to be excited about for bettors in the Hoosier State, and the launch of ESPN BET helped to push those numbers.
ESPN BET accounted for nearly $28 million of the handle, and that’s the best that a PENN Entertainment product has ever done in the state. Online sports betting handle accounted for $496.8 million of the total, and that’s the highest monthly total for that form of wagering as well.
DraftKings has actually surpassed FanDuel in terms of popularity in Indiana betting as it set a record handle for the third straight month. FanDuel actually posted a much lower hold rate than what it is used to, allowing DraftKings to lead the way in revenue as well.
Parlay wagering continues to be the most popular form of betting as it accounted for over 33% of the wagers for the month.
