The Indiana Gaming Commission has weighed in on what events Indiana casinos will offer when they open their legal sportsbooks. The sports betting list is thorough but does have some notable exceptions.

The sports list includes most of the events that will see major action. When Indiana sports betting launches on Sept. 1, there will be a bevy of options.

Indiana sports betting list big on the Big Four

Sports betting in Indiana begins with the major sports:

• Major League Baseball (MLB)
• National Basketball Association (NBA)
• National Football League (NFL)
• National Hockey League (NHL)

There are some things to be pointed out, however. The list limits Minor League Baseball to Triple-A. Bettors won’t be able to place wagers on Fort Wayne Tin Cups or South Bend Silver Hawks games, for instance.

Hockey’s minor leagues and the NBA’s developmental league, the G League, are not on the list either. That means Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Indy Fuel games will be off-limits as well.

The catalog of events accommodates the WNBA and its draft. The list boasts a lot of other options for bettors as well.

College sports, MMA, Olympics, soccer and more

Most NCAA Division 1 sports are on the list, including:

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Football
• Hockey
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Softball
• Tennis
• Track and Field

For college sports played by members of both genders, the list doesn’t denote a preference either way.

Professional soccer includes not only FIFA and MLS but several European leagues along with Mexico’s Liga Bancomer. The NWSL, US Soccer’s professional women’s league, is not on the list.

One notable exclusion from the MMA list is Copa Combate. The circuit is growing in popularity in Hispanic cultures and is rivaling Bellator and UFC for television ratings.

The list features both the summer and winter Olympics, including trials. Other professional sports on the list include;

• Bowling
• Boxing
• Cricket
• Darts
• Rugby
• Tennis

As far as racing goes, sailing events like the America’s Cup and the three biggest auto racing series are included. The list is pretty comprehensive, but whether or not there will be action on the sport is another question. Sports betting news in Indiana will likely pick up pace as the state nears the anticipated launch.

Just because they can doesn’t mean they should

In dialogue over lunch in the movie “Jurassic Park,” Jeff Goldblum’s character utters a memorable line in an ethics rant.

“…yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

The list is the sum of events books in Indiana are allowed to accept wagers on, not a list of events they are required to offer odds on. Indiana bettors may not see actual odds on every event on this list offered by books once online sports betting rolls out.

Books may be selective about which events they accept wagers on because they are businesses seeking profit. For instance, many individual competitions in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics may not see enough action to warrant posting a line on.

As books in Indiana get more familiar with bettors in the Hoosier State, they will know which events to post lines on to attract deposits at Indiana sportsbooks. With a few exceptions, Indiana sportsbooks will have a lot of options to start the process with.