SEPTEMBER’S SPORTS BETTING HANDLE SHINES IN MAJOR LEGAL MARKETS

Dave Schwab Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Legal US sportsbook operators knew that September’s betting handle would end the recent summer slump. However, the actual results were much stronger than expected. The start of a new football season in the college ranks and NFL had a huge impact on September’s overall legal sports betting volume.

When news broke earlier in October of New Jersey’s record $1.01 billion handle, industry insiders expected individual state records to fall all across the marketplace.

The third biggest legal sports betting state in the US market is Pennsylvania. The Keystone State came close to breaking its own record for monthly volume in September with a $578.8 sports betting handle.

This number reflects a 66.1% increase over the $348.5 million wagered in August. Even more impressive is the 25.1% increase over September of last year. Legal Pennsylvania sportsbook operators walked away with $48.1 million in revenue from September’s overall betting volume.

Pennsylvania revenue figures for last month were 163.2% higher than September of 2020. They were also just $200,000 less than the record of $49.3 million in January of this year. Major in-state operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings led the way.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania were not alone in posting impressive numbers in September. Michigan’s sports betting handle last month was $386.8 million according to the state’s Gaming Control Board.

This broke the previous state record of $383.7 million posted this past March. September’s betting volume in Michigan was 85.4% higher than the previous month. More than $354 million of this handle was booked through legal mobile sportsbook operators.

This was the second- biggest online sports betting handle since Michigan went live 18 months ago. That record still stands at $356.8 million set this past March.

This is also a strong market for retail sports betting bolstered by sportsbooks in land-based casinos. Michigan’s retail betting handle in September reached $32.5 million. This was the highest total since this state first launched legal sports betting.

In-state sportsbook operators took in $27.1 million in September. This was a 54.7% increase from August’s revenue figure of $17.5 million.

Indiana was able to set a new record for monthly betting volume thanks to football. The Hoosier State posted a $355.4 million handle in September. This broke the previous record of $348.3 million set in January of this year.

One a month-to-month basis, September’s volume was 64.8% higher than August. Revenue jumped 99.4% month-to-month. Indiana books took in $33.8 million in September. This resulted in $3.2 million in tax revenue for the state.

Indiana is another strong market for legal online sports betting. Mobile wagers accounted for close to 90% of the entire betting handle last month.

As more and more states with legal sports betting report their September handle and revenue figures, the overall US industry is once again booming. With new season’s in both the NBA and NHL underway, October is set up to be an even stronger month for US books.

Written by Dave Schwab, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.

Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab has been covering the sports betting industry for the past 12 years as the main focus of his specialty marketing company for online content. This endeavor followed a previous career in the field of sales and marketing in the wholesaling sector.Most of his weekly pieces focus on the rapidly expanding legal US sports betting industry. However, he still does extensive work covering betting angles that can provide a competitive edge to avid players. Dave believes that it is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. More from Dave Schwab