November could end up being one of the biggest sports betting months of all time in the United States, and the numbers are starting to roll in. The month of November was a busy month as all four of the major professional sports were in action for a few days.
Indiana and Iowa were the first two Midwest states to launch sports betting, and they have had a nice little competition since 2019. The Hoosier State of Indiana has pulled way ahead in that race, and that state had a much better month than Iowa did.
Both states are still trying to keep up with the state of Illinois, which just went over the $1 billion mark for monthly handle in October. Ohio is set to launch sports betting on January 1, 2023, and that will provide another threat in the Midwest.
Indiana and Iowa are always two of the states that post monthly sports betting numbers first, and others will continue to roll in throughout the month of December.
Indiana Hits $10 Billion Mark
The state of Indiana launched legal sports betting in September 2019, and that state has now seen over $10 billion in total lifetime handle. This came after the sports betting handle for the month of November came in at $452.3 million.
Indiana is now just the sixth state to reach the $10 billion mark in lifetime handle, joining a group that includes Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Hoosier State has not been able to keep up with those states on a monthly basis, but it’s still one of the largest markets in the United States.
Surprisingly, the massive November haul didn’t even crack the top five in terms of monthly handle, but it was a slight jump up from October. Indiana has both online and retail betting available, but the mobile sportsbooks bring in most of the wagers.
The total sports betting revenue total nearly hit $40 million, but it fell well short of the record that was set just 12 months ago. Sportsbooks in the state were able to win 8.8% of the wagers, which is higher than the national average for hold rate.
FanDuel Sportsbook came in second in terms of the total handle, but it lapped the competition with a revenue of more than $18 million. In Indiana, it’s DraftKings and FanDuel that are battling for the top spot each month.
Two Wagers Crush Iowa Numbers
The World Series victory by the Houston Astros caused two sportsbooks to be hit hard and also sank the overall revenue numbers for the state of Iowa. Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale placed a pair of $1 million wagers in the state of Iowa, and both of those came with massive payouts after the Astros went on to win the title.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission still announced a revenue of nearly $6 million for the month of November, but it could have been much higher had it not been for the payouts. Betfred Sportsbook and Unibet Sportsbook were the two operators that had to payout, and they ended up losing money for the month.
It wasn’t all bad for sportsbooks in Iowa, though, as FanDuel was able to report over $6 million in revenue. Other operators in the state saw a significant jump in handle from previous months, and that trend should continue throughout the NFL season.
Iowa is another sports betting market that still has a chance to grow and expand in the coming months.
