DraftKings Indiana has been licensed since October 3, 2019, and by April 2026 it had grown into the biggest single sportsbook in the state — $156.3 million of that month's wagers, more than a third of all Indiana online handle. It is also, as of this year, the licensed contrast case to a product Indiana just outlawed: the unregulated “sweepstakes casino” apps that occupied the same search results without ever holding a state license.
Is DraftKings Legal in Indiana? Yes, Since October 2019
Governor Eric Holcomb signed HB 1015 on May 8, 2019, making Indiana the tenth state to legalize sports wagering. Retail sportsbooks opened first, on September 1, 2019, inside the state's riverboat and racino casinos. Mobile betting followed a month later, on October 3, 2019, with DraftKings and BetRivers the first two apps live and FanDuel close behind. Indiana law does not let an online brand hold a standalone license — it has to attach itself to an existing licensed casino, racetrack, or off-track betting facility, a structure the industry calls a “skin.” DraftKings' skin partner is Ameristar Casino East Chicago, a Lake Michigan riverboat property run by Penn National Gaming.
The license, plainly: DraftKings does not operate under its own standalone Indiana permit. It operates under Ameristar East Chicago's license, the same skin arrangement Indiana requires of every third-party sportsbook brand in the state.
Not the Sweepstakes Casinos Indiana Just Banned
In March 2026, Governor Mike Braun signed HB 1052, banning unregulated “sweepstakes casino” apps — sites that used sweepstakes-style dual-currency setups to offer casino-style games without ever holding an Indiana gaming license. The ban took effect July 1, 2026, and gave the Indiana Gaming Commission new civil penalty authority to enforce it. It is worth saying plainly: that ban has nothing to do with DraftKings Sportsbook. DraftKings operates a real-money product, licensed and taxed by the IGC through the Ameristar East Chicago skin agreement, not a sweepstakes workaround. The two get conflated in casual searches; they are not the same kind of business.
Is DraftKings Legit in Indiana? The Market Share Says Yes
Per Indiana Gaming Commission monthly filings, DraftKings took in $156,336,034 of the state's online handle in April 2026 — about 36.7% of the total and the largest share of any of the roughly ten licensed online operators that month. DraftKings and FanDuel together have controlled more than 65% of Indiana's online sports betting handle for most of 2026. That kind of concentration does not happen by accident in a state that audits every operator monthly; it is what a mature, heavily used license looks like.
What Indiana taxes it on: the IGC taxes online sports wagering revenue at 9.5% of adjusted gross revenue, one of the lowest rates among legal states. DraftKings pays that rate on its Indiana revenue the same as every other licensed operator.
How Safe Is DraftKings for Indiana Players?
Standard regulated-market protections apply: IGC licensing and monthly financial audits, mandatory geolocation confirming an in-state bettor, and identity verification at signup. Indiana's Voluntary Exclusion Program has let gamblers self-exclude from the state's casinos since 2003, and it now covers licensed mobile sports wagering too — enrollment runs one year, five years, or for life, and anyone caught betting while excluded forfeits their winnings to the state's Problem Gambler's Fund.
No Casino App Here Yet
Indiana has never legalized real-money online casino gaming for any operator. A 2025 attempt to pass it died in the legislature, and a similar 2026 proposal — projected to bring in roughly $185 million a year in state tax revenue — was still moving through the statehouse as of this writing. Until that changes, DraftKings Casino, live in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, is not a product an Indiana account can open, no matter how dominant the sportsbook has become.
Bottom line: DraftKings has been legally licensed in Indiana since October 2019, runs through a riverboat casino's skin agreement the way state law requires, and has grown into the state's largest online sportsbook by handle. It is not, and never has been, one of the sweepstakes-style apps Indiana banned in 2026. Treat any deposit as entertainment spending, not income. 21+ only, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, Indiana's problem gambling help line is 1-800-994-8448.