The Hoosier State is known for its professional and collegiate sports teams, and the countless fans who adore them. From the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, to the multitude of NCAA ‘Hoosiers’ sports teams, and everything in between, you won’t find a more pridefully competitive state anywhere in the country. Now, thanks to progressive politicians, the competition just got amplified by the legalization of live, online and mobile sports betting in Indiana.
Efforts to modernize the state’s gaming industry have been ongoing for some time now. Those familiar with the situation know that games of chance aren’t something the government generally approves of; evident by the long-standing history of gambling laws that forced casinos to preside on riverboats, floating just offshore on the Ohio River or Lake Michigan. It was around the same time riverboat casinos were allowed to come ashore that the first form of online betting – paid daily fantasy sports – was legalized.
Since then, fantasy has evolved into reality with the legalization of sports betting in Indiana, not just at licensed casinos and race tracks, but also on the internet. The first of 10 current IGC-licensed mobile sportsbooks went live in October 2019. This website is dedicated providing interested Hoosiers with all the factual and unbiased information they need to make informed choices regarding the state’s nascent iGaming market.
iGaming Guidance: Answers to Common Questions |
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We’d like to begin a quick Q&A covering answers to the most common questions. Barely a year has passed since the first land-based, online and mobile sportsbooks went live in Indiana. We understand that most of our readers visit our website out of curiosity, seeking more information about the legality, safety, and limitations of iGaming. Most of you know that online gambling has been around far longer than it’s been legal in the Hoosier State. The first internet sportsbooks, as well as internet casinos and poker rooms, appeared in the late 1990s. Lawmakers cut off access to these sites by prohibiting all forms of internet betting in 2005. Now that some forms are legal, there’s a lot of confusion to be sorted out. With that in mind, we’ve spent a great deal of time researching the online gambling laws of Indiana. Please have a look below at the five most common questions we’ve come across, followed by factual, unbiased responses, provided to the best of our considerable knowledge. Quick Q&A
Want to learn more? These questions and many more are answered in much greater detail on our comprehensive Q&A: |
IGC Licensed & Legal Sportsbook Websites |
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Since sports betting laws went into effect in May 2019, the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) has been very busy, finalizing regulations, investigating license applications, issuing certificates, and monitoring the operation of more than a dozen internet betting websites. There are, at present, 10 authorized online sportsbooks operators, and 5 paid daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators; a total of 13 combined (two of which represent both markets). The following is a complete list of all online and mobile sports betting sites in Indiana. Click on any operator below to learn more about it. You can learn more about DFS betting operators here. |
What IN Bettors Can & Can’t Do Online |
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It wasn’t until 1988 that Indiana amended a 135+ gambling prohibition to allow its first form of betting – the Hoosier Lottery. That single move gave lawmakers the motivation to push for additional gambling verticals. Within five years, pari-mutuel betting on horse races and gambling on riverboat casinos were commonplace. Those particular methods of gambling have yet to make it to the online space – not in any legal form, that is. The first online betting vertical to be approved by daily fantasy sports. This came about in 2016. It took about a year for the gaming commission to set up a Paid DFS division to handle oversight of the fantasy sports market, issue licenses, and get websites up and running. No doubt, legal sports betting would have been considered much sooner, if only it weren’t proscribed by the federal government up until early 2018. At that point, political figureheads immediately began debating the topic of legalization. Studies were commissioned, voter polls were taken, and soon enough, it became evident that sports betting was a revenue stream worth tapping into. Again, it took about a year to get from point-A (legalization) to point-B (accepting bets). To date, these are the only two online betting activities that are legal in Indiana. They are only legal when the operation is conducted by an authorized, actively licensed operator. Please know that wagering with any unauthorized, unlicensed bookmaker is illegal in Indiana. For reference, here’s a list of all the state’s legal betting markets, separated by land-based and online/mobile operation. Click on any item to learn more.
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Top IN Mobile Sportsbooks & Apps |
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When state lawmakers chose to authorize betting on sports, they passed sweeping legislation to approve both land-based and online sportsbook operations. The decision was made, in part, by the recommendation of an in-depth study in 2018 by Eilers & Krejcik. That study predicted more than half of all sports betting revenue (57%) would be generated by mobile bettors in the first year, increasing to about two-thirds (68%) by year five. Considering the current state of affairs – 2020 has been a tumultuous year, to put it mildly – I think it’s safe to assume the online and mobile side of the Indiana sports betting industry has exceeded those projections. Digital betting options earned significant majority favor, practically by default. Fortunately, operators have given fans of sports gambling in the Hoosier state a modestly balanced variety of choices. There are currently 10 online platforms to choose from, each with their own distinctions. Which Sportsbook is Right for You?For us, choosing a single sportsbook to represent the ‘best option’ for every potential member is just not possible. It’s less about the qualities each site offers, and more about the qualities each bettor is looking. Just as every bookmaker is different in some way, so are the members they hope to attract. Some offer a larger variety of sports, or types of sports bets. Some are more generous with their promotions. Others have more payment methods to choose from. With this in mind, we’ve taken the time to script a few feature reviews to help you make the best choice, according to your needs. One of the most common deal-breakers in the iGaming market is the availability of preferred deposit and withdrawal methods, or lack thereof. Likewise, mobile bettors are often drawn to the best user interface and in-app features. If any of these situations apply to you, the following pages may be of great help. BetRivers Wins with Collective QualificationsIf we had to choose just one site to recommend to most of our readers, it would have to be BetRivers Indiana. It’s not the perfect site. It doesn’t check off every column in a full features review. Most notably, BetRivers doesn’t have a Fantasy Sports segment. That could be a deal breaker for some of you (except Indiana law requires partial sportsbook/DFS account segregation), but the ample features this operator does have are of remarkably superior quality. BetRivers was the first to receive a license and launch its an online services in Indiana. Not only was its parent company quick to react to legislation, choosing a reputable partner in French Lick Resort, the IGC recognized Rush Street Interactive as a historic game-changer in the US iGaming market. Its sister-site, PlaySugarHouse, has been online in New Jersey since 2016, and was among the first to bring regulated online sports betting to that state – to the entire United States, for that matter – in August 2018. But reputation isn’t everything. IN BetRivers presents Hoosiers with more sports lines than more than half of the state’s operators, including oft-overlooked wagers on Aussie Rules football. Every type of bet is offered, including a wide selection of props, with odds available in all formats. Furthermore, BetRivers offers one of the largest payment method menus, with 8 ways to deposit and 5 ways to cash out, including America’s favorite eWallet, PayPal. Other fine qualities include the BetRiver welcome bonus and VIP program. New members receive a 100% up to $250first-time deposit match, with just 1x wagering requirements attached. From there, players choose what type and size bonuses they want to receive. A selection of promos are available for exchange in the bonus store. Players buy them with the points they earn in the iRUSH Rewards loyalty program. You can learn more about these and more promotions, as well as all other BetRivers features, here: |
No Legal Indiana Online Casino / Poker / Racing |
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To date, Indiana has made no move to legalize other forms of online gambling outside the realm of sports and fantasy sports wagers. Thanks to a specific law passed in 2005, any form of online gambling that’s not authorized in the state is strictly prohibited. That means Hoosiers cannot lawfully place wagers over the internet on any of the following activities:
If you’re hoping these types of iGaming verticals will be legalized in the near future, there is hope. Indiana has proven itself to be a quick adopter of progressive iGaming modernization. The only thing impeding the path of political proponents is the consensus of the general public. Hoosiers are historically known for their conservative views, especially when it comes to things like gambling expansion. In the last five years, however, we’ve seen more progress than ever before. DFS became the first legal online betting platform. Riverboat casinos were allowed to plant roots on-shore. Sports betting was ushered into land-based casinos, and welcomed to the online space. For such a conservative territory, that’s a lot of movement in a short time. While the government has yet to shift towards the legalization of any of the above proscribed activities for virtual real-money gaming, there’s a clear path trending in that direction. Once the revenue slacks off, we may see more legislators veering towards that path. With the NFL season well underway, sports betting revenue is streaming in. That will slow down come February, but NCAA basketball will kick in to replace it. March Madness will be the high point of that vertical. What next? Yes, there will always be sports to bet on, but if revenue flags, odds are Indiana’s lawmakers will at least consider iGaming expansion to keep the tax coffers full. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the situation to bring you any updates as they happen. |
