February is typically a down month for sports betting in the United States. Playoff football ends with the Super Bowl at the beginning of the month, so it’s tough for sports wagering numbers to rise from January to February.
Not all states were able to bounce back in March in the legal United States market. Although, West Virginia and Indiana did not have this problem. Both states had significant sports betting numbers in March, thanks to the NCAA Tournament.
West Virginia Numbers
West Virginia’s March sports betting revenue numbers were up 250.5% from February. It was 334.1% higher than in March of 2020.
The West Virginia Lottery Commission announced that the monthly revenue was $4.781 million. The sportsbook owners in the state were thrilled, considering they only collected $1.364 million in February.
The state’s handle was $50.703 million, 32.7% higher than the $38.212 million in February. West Virginia did not only make significant gains in sports betting.
The state’s iGaming industry also skyrocketed. The iGaming industry was up 30.4% from February. The NCAA tournament drew people to online sportsbooks, which helped iGaming gain traction.
The launch of BetRivers also played a role in the popularity of iGaming during March.
Indiana Numbers
Indiana, which hosted the entire NCAA Tournament, had a phenomenal sports betting month. This was no surprise because of basketball, but the numbers were still massive.
Indiana’s total handle was $316.7 million, which created $26.4 million in revenue. The handle was not more prominent than the state’s record in January when $348.2 million was gambled.
Indiana made significant gains from February to March, but all numbers were short of January. Mobile sports betting accounted for the majority of the wagers in the state.
Mobile betting made up 91% of the handle, which totaled $246.6 million. DraftKings led the state in handle and revenue. The sportsbook was followed by FanDuel, BetMGM, PointsBet, and BetRivers.
DraftKings’ revenue was $8.5 million. The casino that did the best throughout the month in total gaming was Hollywood Lawrenceburg. There are 13 casinos in Indiana.
The Effect of the NCAA Tournament on Sports Betting
The NCAA Tournament played a massive role in West Virginia and Indiana’s monthly growth. Indiana did not have its best month ever, but the increase from February to March was significant.
West Virginia had a record month, thanks to the NCAA Tournament. West Virginia University caused many people in the state to have an extra stake in March Madness. The Mountaineers were a three seed in the tournament, but they were upset in the second round.
Nevertheless, many people still bet on the NCAA Tournament after the Mountaineers were eliminated. In the first week of games that ended on March 20th, the state generated $10.3 million in wagers.
Out of this handle, $7.3 million came from mobile wagers. Indiana had a big betting month during the NCAA Tournament. Even though Indiana did not have many local teams to wager, people were still locked in wagers.
Purdue was the only hometown team, and North Texas beat them in the first round. College basketball ended up being over half of the March handle at $160.7 million.
