The Indiana Gaming Commission has given its official approval for Kindred Group’s Unibet brand to launch its mobile sports betting products in the state.
In May of this year Unibet Indiana LLC was given a temporary vendor license that enabled it to offer sports betting in partnership with Caesar Entertainment’s Horseshoe Hammond casino in Hammond, Indiana.
The Commission has now stated that during the period it operated with a temporary permit, Unibet ‘substantially demonstrated’ that its mobile sports wagering actions satisfied all relevant regulations in the state. This has resulted in the Commission granting its approval for Unibet to roll out its full mobile sports offering in Indiana from Thursday, 30th July 2020.
In February Kindred entered into a multi-state agreement with Caesars in terms of which it launched the Unibet brand in Indiana and Iowa. The agreement was subject to approval in both states. The Iowa portion of the agreement covers a partnership with the Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino.
The regulated sports betting market in Indiana saw handle and revenue decline in June, despite land based casinos in the state re-opening midway through the month. According to official Commission figures, amounts wagered across all licensees fell 20.2% month-on-month to $29.8m.
Kindred has however, reported a year-on-year rise in revenue in the first half of the year, even though its business was impacted by the novel coronavirus (Covid 19) pandemic.
Gross winnings revenue for the six months ending 30th June totaled an amount of £484.8m, an increase of 7.6% from £450.6m in the same period in 2019.