It appears Caitlin Clark is helping to put up big numbers off the court, too.
The WNBA phenomenon, and No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, is currently starring for the Indiana Fever. She contributed to basketball becoming the second most popular sport to bet on in the Hoosier State. So far in 2024, $1.11 billion has been staked on basketball, making it the standout performer of the year.
The Indiana Gaming Commission announced that the state’s 12 mobile sportsbooks generated nearly $31 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for June, marking a robust start to the summer.
Year-Over-Year Numbers Up Big
Compared to June last year, operator winnings soared by nearly 57%, and the betting handle increased by 33% to $298.2 million. Although the IGC doesn’t provide a breakdown of basketball bets by league, the $33.3 million wagered represents a 38.3% increase, driven in part by Clark.
Indiana also became the eighth state to surpass $17 billion in an all-time handle, with $2.44 billion wagered in the first half of this year, a 19.5% increase from 2023.
Win Rates Hit Double Digits Again
For the second consecutive month, sportsbooks across the state achieved double-digit win rates. The hold rate for the first half of the year was 9.7%, nearly half a percentage point higher than last year and almost a full percentage point above the all-time hold rate of 8.8%.
From the state’s 14.25% tax on mobile betting and 8.5% levy on retail, operators paid almost $3 million to the state during the month, bringing the total for the first half of the year to $22.6 million, which is $4.4 million ahead of last year’s pace.
Indiana’s June Numbers Don’t Outpace May 2024
The only downside was a nearly 22% decline in revenue from May, which was slightly bigger than the 17.5% decrease in handle. This was due to the collective hold rate dropping by just over half a percentage point to just over 10%.
Baseball, being the only major sport in action, was the most popular sport to bet on in June, with $83.5 million in wagers. Basketball was second.
As far as the types of bets people were putting down, parlays were the most popular. Parlays across all sports continued to perform strongly, accounting for more than $88 million of the handle in June and nearly $1.7 billion for the 2024 fiscal year.
And although Caitlin Clark has been fueling a lot of the action, the start of football season should breathe new life into Indiana’s betting industry. The NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, and numerous college teams, including Notre Dame, Indiana, and Purdue all call the Hoosier State home.
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