Carousel Group Makes Big Move

The Carousel Group was able to secure market access into the state of Colorado in 2020, but that company is set to take a huge leap in 2021.

On Friday, it was announced that the Carousel Group has gained access to New Jersey, Iowa, and would be offering sports betting in Indiana, three of the biggest sports betting markets in the US.

To gain access into these three markets, Carousel inked a 10-year deal with Caesars Entertainment, which has properties in all three of these states. In New Jersey, the Carousel Group will also be allowed to enter the online casino market.

Sportsbetting.com is the official sportsbook of the Carousel Group, and that site launched in Colorado in September 2020. Colorado is an extremely competitive market, but Sportsbetting.com has been successful, leading the Carousel Group to seek out more opportunities. You can read more on our sister site Gamble Colorado about what the operator offers in CO.

According to this new release, the Carousel Group currently has a market worth $109 million in the United States, but this deal will grow that exponentially. It is projected that the new market will be worth close to $1.8 billion based on the size of the three new states set to see Sportsbetting.com.

The Carousel Group was clearly targeting the top sports betting markets in the United States, but the company also sought out a terrific partner in Caesars Entertainment. Breaking into New Jersey will likely be the hardest of the three states, as total sports betting handle has been over $900 million for three straight months.

The January sports betting handle total in the state of Indiana was $348.2 million, which was a new monthly record. Indiana sits just outside the top-five, but the state has steadily seen growth since launching sports betting at the end of 2019.

No Online Casino Gaming in Indiana

Some lawmakers in the state of Indiana were hoping to get a new online casino gaming bill passed this year, but it appears that those efforts are going to fall short. The state of Michigan just recently launched a full suite of online gaming options, and it is set to become the leader in the Midwest in that market.

There were a pair of bills introduced recently, with one coming from both the House and the Senate. The bills were extremely similar, with the objective to allow the 14 casinos in Indiana the ability to offer online casino gaming options.

In Indiana, there is a deadline set for bills looking to get past the committee stage of the legislative process. Both of these bills failed to advance prior to the deadline, ending any chance of online casino gaming in 2021.

Senator Jon Ford was the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 417, and he estimated that this bill could have brought in up to $80 million in tax revenue for the state of Indiana. Sports betting tax revenue has been a huge boost to the state, but lawmakers continue searching for additional forms.

Indiana Casinos are starting to reopen after being shut down due to COVID-19, but the convenience of online casino gaming remains high.

For more sports news and legal sports betting in Indiana, check out more stories on our blog.

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