Caesars Gets Indiana Approval

Caesars sportsbook app is ready to enter the growing Indiana sports betting market

There is now a seventh app in the Indiana sports betting market after Caesars got approval from regulators to launch their sportsbook platform. The Indiana Gaming Commission gave Caesars the green light to go live, and the company launched its sportsbook app on Tuesday, May 19. Indiana is the fourth state for the Caesars app, which is available in New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. In 2018, Caesars partnered with Scientific Games, who power the sportsbook technology, which has allowed it to launch in those four states. It looks Iowa will be the next state which Caesars will have an interest in.

The app will go live through the Horseshoe Hammond‘s license. Each casino in the state is allowed up to three online sports betting partners. Sports betting had been steadily growing in the state, until the last few months where the coronavirus pandemic had put a halt to the industry.

Caesars Slow out of the Blocks

It has come as a surprise to some in the industry that Caesars has taken longer than other operators to launch an online sports betting platform. The company launched its app in Nevada in 2017 and was at the forefront of things in New Jersey when PASPA was overturned. By the time the 2018 NFL season rolled around, they were already up and running in NJ.

However, Caesars did not offer a sports betting app in a third state until March 2020, Pennsylvania. Other operators, such as DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook, have been much more active. Caesars hasn’t left it as long with Indiana, although the sporting world is currently on pause due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Two More Obtain Indiana Sports Betting Licenses

The Indiana Gaming Commission has been busy this month. It has approved licenses for two other operators. First up was theScore Bet, which is launching through its partnership with Penn National. Following them was Unibet, which is launching through Caesars’ Horseshoe Hammond.

These approvals are just for temporary operator licenses, so an official launch of either is not imminent. To give you an idea of timescales, Caesars got its approval last August and took more than nine months to launch.

Tough April, but Might May be Better for Sportsbooks?

It was inevitable that without any sporting action, the Indiana sports betting handle and revenue would suffer. April’s handle dropped nearly 65% from March, and revenue fell over 71%. However, there may be some hope on the horizon. Some sports will tentatively begin to resume in May. It is possible that this may lead to a more promising outlook for the sportsbooks.

March Madness, the start of the MLB season, and the NBA and NHL playoffs were all canceled. That, in turn, led to a considerable drop in actual and projected revenues across the industry. However, May has seen NASCAR, UFC, charity golf events, and the return of soccer in Germany. There has also been some European table tennis action.

The near future certainly looks a little brighter for sports betting. Governors are making plans to enable pro sports to return, and the leagues are opening discussions with players and union reps to put plans in place for a safe return. Indiana has already authorized numerous fringe sports to give operators something to offer, but this did not include the fast-growing esports.

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