Indiana-based sportsbooks including both land-based and online operators active within the state’s borders had an extremely successful December according to the latest financial reports. It was revealed that Indiana land-based and online sportsbooks saw a massive increase of around 29% in their gross gaming revenues for December which equals to around $12 million as well as to around $1.1 million in taxes.

According to one report from PlayIndiana.com from several days ago, sportsbooks that are active in the state processed around $161.8 million in wagers in December which equals an amazing rise of around 10%. According to the main gaming authority in the state, the Indiana Gaming Commission, around 69.5% of these bets were placed at the state’s four fully licensed and regulated online bookies.

Indiana Becoming the Fourth-Biggest USA Sports Betting Market

Speaking of the Indiana sports betting industry, it is definitely thriving in every sense. The very first land-based sportsbook in the state opened its doors in September of last year, while the state’s online sports betting market finally went live one month later in October. As in other states, online sports betting operators that want to operate within the state’s borders must partner with brick and mortar operators in order to fully legally provide their online sports betting services.

While almost every major online sports betting operator has a certain path into this growing market, only several of them including DraftKings, FoxBet, PointsBet, William Hill, Caesars, FanDuel and BetMGM among several other are running so far. When it comes to land-based sportsbooks, a number of brick and mortar casino operators offer sportsbooks within their facilities including Ameristar Casino Resort, and Blue Chip Casino.

All in all, with so many profitable online and land-based sportsbooks thriving in the state, Indiana has become the fourth-biggest USA sports betting market its land-based and online sportsbooks have generated around $433.4 million in wagers as well as around $42.7 million in gross gaming revenues since sports betting has been legalized in the state of Indiana in September of 2019.

According to local news outlets, this massive success of the state’s sports betting market can only become even bigger as the National Football League’s playoff season starts and as college football, and the National Basketball Association games intensify in the months to come. As reported by Dustin Gouker, the state may surpass that $1 billion mark in wagers by the month of March with the National Football League’s playoff season. If this happens, Indiana will become of the biggest legal sports betting jurisdictions in the United States to reach this mark.

Thriving Online Sports Betting Market

Aside from the growing popularity of land-based sportsbooks in the state, the state’s online sports betting market is following the same steps. As reported by PlayIndiana.com, one of the state’s most popular online bookies DraftKings led the online market in December as its widely visited domain licensed by Penn National Gaming Incorporated’s of Ameristar Casino and Hotel East Chicago generated around $66.7 million in wagers and around $5 million in gaming revenues.

DraftKings is followed by the FanDuel online sports betting service which is operated in a business partnership with Body Gaming Corporation’s Blue Chip Casino Hotel and Spa which generated around $36 million in wagers and around $2.2 in revenues.

Moreover, the latest financial results for the previous month also suggest that the sportsbook within Caesars Entertainment Corporation-operated Horseshoe Hammond facility had led the state’s land-based sports betting industry in December as the venue processes wagers worth around $13.4 million while it also generated around $1.1 million in gross receipts.

One of the most prominent Asian companies, Suncity Group has revealed that the company will soon debut its fully refurnished VIP lounge within the Galaxy Macau facility. Galaxy Macau is a luxurious casino and resort situated on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The construction of the facility started in 2002. The opening date of the property was rescheduled several times while it finally opened its doors to the public back on the 15^th of May, 2011.

The casino and resort is owned and operated by Galaxy Entertainment Group. The property includes six hotels and each has its own unique theme including JW Marriott, The Ritz Carlton, Hotel Okura, Banyan Tree, Broadway Macau, and Galaxy Macau. The property includes two thousand and two hundred rooms with one thousand and five hundred rooms in the Galaxy Hotel venue.

The hotel also includes a massive casino floor and a variety of other entertainment facilities included as well. The privately-owned Suncity Group was responsible for upgrading and refreshing the hotel’s VIP gaming lounge which is situated near the facility’s Diamond Lobby. The upgraded VIP lounge opened its doors on the 24^th of September. Packed with a new, luxurious design, the area includes twenty private gaming tables.

Taking Advantage of the Golden Week Holiday

As reported by GGRAsia, the re-opening date for the VIP lounge of Galaxy Macau proved extremely beneficial for the responsible company as it allowed Suncity Group to benefit from the Golden Week holiday which kicks off from the 1^st of October. During the holiday, Chinese tourists always gladly visit this area and this time they gathered to check the refurnished VIP lounge of Galaxy Macau to celebrate their nation’s seventieth birthday.

Situated on the northern side of the Cotai Strip, very close to the remarkable Venetian Macao, Galaxy Macau has been upgraded several times since its opening in 2011. Some of its facilities were given new looks as a part of the company’s $191 million-worth upgrade revamp. Back in July, Suncity Group introduced another privately-owned VIP gaming lounge at Rio Hotel and Casino which runs using a casino license by the Galaxy Macau’s owner.

Two Months of Declines in Aggregated Gross Gaming Revenues for Macau

After almost two months of constant declines in aggregated gross gaming revenues from thirty-five casinos located in Macau, September showed a great increase in the gross gaming revenues of 0.57% which amounts to around $2.7 billion. As reported by the Bloomberg news outlet, the result from September was around $15.7 million higher when compared to the same thirty-day period last year.

On the other hand, the numbers on aggregated gross gaming revenues for Macau-based casinos for July and August showed significant decreases of 3.5% and 8.6%. When taking into account the numbers from September, Macau-based casinos have recorded aggregated gross gaming revenues for nine months of around $27.2 billion which is a contraction of around 1.67%.

Despite promising numbers, Macau’s casino industry is still very vulnerable to major headwinds such as ongoing China and United States trade war and other political issues. Macau is home to some of the world’s most famous venues including the Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited-owned and operated Studio City Macau and SJM Holdings Limited-operated Casino Grand Lisboa.

However, concerning the future of Macau’s junket services, it is rather uncertain. At the same time, one Asian casino operator which heralds extremely successful September is Paradise Company Limited that has reportedly experienced a massive 42.7% increase of aggregated gross gaming revenues which amounts to around $61 million.

The Seoul-based company also revealed that its table games gross gaming revenues for September increased by around 45.1% which amounts to $57.7 million. Moreover, the company’s slot gross gaming revenues also rose by 10.7% amounting to $3.2 million. The company owns and operates casino and hotel resorts in Busan, Jeju, and Seoul including the Paradise City resort located close to Incheon International Airport. Considering its latest numbers on the aggregated gross gaming revenues, the South Korean casino operator enjoyed an impressive improvement of 23.5% from last year which equals $470.7 million.