Few would've had money on The Hoosier State becoming one of the early frontrunners for online gambling.

But since going Indiana sports gambling began in October 2019, Indiana has welcomed many of the biggest US sportsbooks including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Barstool, as well as top international brands like Unibet and PointsBet.

There are, then, plenty of options if you're looking to gamble online in Indiana. Here's a run-through of the best.

Best Online Gambling Sites Indiana

1. Caesars Sportsbook Indiana → Industry-leading promos
2. FanDuel Sportsbook Indiana → Clean, logical interface
3. Betway Indiana → Sleek design and great odds boosts
4. BetMGM Indiana → Great live streaming
5. Unibet Indiana → Generous bonus offers
6. BetRivers Indiana → First available Indiana sportsbook
7. DraftKings Sportsbook Indiana → Great for beginners

Online casinos in Indiana may one day be introduced but, for now, Indiana online gambling includes online sports betting only.

Before you can gamble online in Indiana, you need to choose a betting site best suited to your preferences and gambling habits, sign-up and create an account, deposit money, and, last but not least, claim your welcome bonus.

This part of the guide walks you through each stage.

How to Get Started with Indiana Online Gambling

1. Choose an online sportsbook in Indiana
2. Sign-up and create an account
3. Make a deposit
4. Claim your welcome bonus

1. Choosing Indiana Online Sports Gambling Sites

When deciding which sportsbooks to sign up with, Hoosiers are almost spoilt for choice!

With a dozen different options, you're forgiven if you don't know where to start or what to look in an Indiana sportsbook.

Our dedicated guide to Indiana sports betting sites has plenty of tips and advice to help, or, simply choose one of our recommended options below.

Top 5 Indiana Sportsbooks

1. Caesars Sportsbook Indiana → Industry-leading promos
2. FanDuel Sportsbook Indiana → Clean, logical interface
3. Betway Indiana → Sleek design and great odds boosts
4. BetMGM Indiana → Great live streaming
5. Unibet Indiana → Top European operator
   

2. Creating an Online Sports Gambling Account in Indiana

Sportsbooks make it as easy as possible to sign-up. Customers can either do so via the website or mobile app of any licensed Indiana gambling operator and create an account.

The best part about Indiana betting is you can do so remotely, i.e. from home or where’s convenient for you.

Regardless of the site you choose, or the device you use, the sign-up process itself is routine. Basic personal information is needed to create your own, unique account and for betting companies to know who you are.

And the advantage of using legal Indiana sportsbooks of course is any information shared is safe and secure.

How to Sign-Up with Indiana Sports Betting Sites

• Create account details - this includes a username and password, unique to you. Also, you need to enter a valid email address.
• Register personal information - provide basic information such as name, address, date of birth & Social Security Number (usually the last four digits).
• Secure account - depending on the site, you may need to choose a security question and answer. This is in case you forget your password, you have another way to log in.
• Confirm identity - the final part involves having to verify your email to confirm you are who you say are!

3. Depositing Money to your Indiana Gambling Account

There are few pastimes that bring a greater thrill than placing a bet! Even more so, if it happens to be your first ever wager. But there’s no hiding from the fact it costs money. To bet, you need to fund your account.

Generally speaking, Indiana sportsbooks offer many of the typical deposit methods, i.e. Credit/Debit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers as a way to fund your account. In some cases, there will be more options and a better variety to select from.

4. Claim Indiana Sportsbook Welcome Bonus

In order to help get your account up and running, Indiana betting sites offer new customers a welcome bonus.

Betting bonuses, of which most are matched deposit bonuses, are commonplace in online gambling markets worldwide. They are used by operators to stand out from the competition and incentivize new customers to sign up.

Crucially, for you, Indiana sportsbook welcome bonuses ensure sure your account has funds on day one while enabling you to familiarize yourself with how a sportsbook operates.

Where can you sign-up and wager? Do you need residency to gamble online in Indiana? And what exactly can you bet on?

Here are the nuts and bolts of Indiana gambling laws.

• You need to be physically located in Indiana to bet legally
• All players must be at least 21 and provide a valid SSN
• You have the freedom to bet anywhere in the state
• You can register an online betting account anywhere in Indiana
• Indiana residency is not needed to wager legally
• Betting on amateur youth events and e-Sports is prohibited.

Indiana launched legal retail sports betting in September 2019. The Hoosier State has fourteen brick-and-mortar locations where you can bet in person.

Online sports wagering went live in October 2019. As it stands, there are ten online sportsbooks licensed in Indiana.

In order to become licensed, each online operator must partner with an Indiana retail sportsbook, as required by Indiana Gambling law. A licensed retail property can offer up to three online licenses, sometimes referred to as “skins”.

Here's a complete list of licensed sportsbooks in Indiana with their retail partner.

It wasn’t so long ago that betting comprised solely predicting the winner of a game. But betting has now evolved to the point where you can pretty much bet on anything!

Today, we are spoilt with the array of different bets we can play on our favorite sports. This part of the guide runs through the types of bet you will find offered by Indiana sportsbooks and, notably, how each one works in practice.

Moneyline

The most common and straightforward form of sports betting where you are predicting the winner of a game or contest. As a result (no pun intended), you will find this type of bet offered for all sports.

There are a few points to take note of here:

• There is always a favorite (expected to win) and an underdog (not expected to win)
• The favorite is always displayed with a minus (-) value, the underdog a (+) value
• Odds are calculated by the sportsbook who considers a range of factors to determine the difference between the two participants - this can include home-field advantage, form, head-to-head injuries, etc.
• All lines are based on a $100 wager

With this in mind, here’s an example of how a Moneyline works.

Point Spread

Known as handicap betting, a Point Spread is a common wager for sports that generate high scores, i.e Football and Basketball.

A Point Spread is a very popular type of bet for many reasons but mainly because it levels the playing field between two teams and brings more value to a wager, that otherwise, may not be enticing.

Essentially, you're predicting the points difference between two teams.

For instance, you can wager on the favorite winning by a certain amount of points or the underdog keeping the points difference within a certain amount.

Check out the below example for how a Point Spread works.

These types of bet are also common for patrons betting on their favorite sports in Indiana.

Totals (Over/Under)

Simply predict the number of points scored by both teams. The sportsbook will set a total based on the two teams. Your task is to predict Over, or, Under the line set.

Parlay

Whereas a Moneyline is a single bet, a parlay is a series of bets on different teams. Calling this one right can bring significant winnings. However, all picks must be right for the wager to win.

Prop

Any bet relating to the performance of a player or an event within the game but not the direct outcome. For instance, how many points or touchdowns a player will score, or, how long the national anthem will play for at the Super Bowl is an example of the range of prop bets available.

Futures

Here, you're betting on the winning team of a league championship or tournament. Or next season’s MVP, for instance. For the best odds, this wager is usually placed prior to and well in advance of when the event begins, which is when you will find the best odds incidentally.

The Indianapolis Colts

The state’s football team, 'The Colts' were one of the NFL originals. But not as the Colts. Indiana’s most popular sports team actually has its roots in Baltimore but was upped and moved west in 1984.

Two Superbowl wins, one in its former life and the other as recent as 2006 raises the question of when the team enjoyed most of its success.

16 playoff appearances and two conference championships since relocating suggest the franchise is having a better time of it in The Hoosier State!

The Indiana Pacers

Basketball is hands down the most popular sport in Indiana, making The Pacers an important part of the state's identity and the foundation of any wager placed.

Named as a result of the state’s history of speedway racing, The Pacers were born in 1967 and first played as a member of the American Basketball Association, which the team won on three occasions.

The Pacers became an NBA member in 1976 but remain in search of that maiden NBA championship.

The Indy 500

Okay, it's not a sports team but a sporting event synonymous with Indiana is, of course, the Indianapolis 500.

'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' is held annually on Memorial Day weekend and takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 500-mile race is ranked as one of the most prestigious events in the motorsports calendar and is known to attract a capacity crowd of 400,000 racegoers.

What else can you bet on in Indiana?

Sports betting in Indiana is more than the NBA and the NFL! Whatever the sport, placing a wager on it is possible in Indiana.

Here’s a list of all the approved sports and selected competitions approved by the Indiana Gaming Commission.

The state's lottery was banned in 1851 and with it, gambling in Indiana as a whole.

This was the case until 1988 when a push was made to lift the ban. The Indiana General Assembly left it to voters who approved the industry by a 60% margin. First came the Hoosier Lottery, followed by pari-mutuel betting in 1989.

The first riverboat casino opened in 1993, one of ten to open its doors in the early ’90s as Indiana’s online casino industry was born. But it wasn’t until 2004 when the first land-based casino was built in French Lick.

Legal gambling locations gradually expanded and now amount to 13, including nine riverboat casinos, two-land based casinos, and two racinos.

Following the fall of The Professional and Amateur Act of 1992 (PASPA), which had banned legalized sports betting for the majority of states, Indiana pushed ahead with a legislative framework that would enable the state to introduce legal sports betting.

The Hoosier State launched regulated sports betting at physical gambling locations in September 2019 with the online sports betting ready and live just one month later.