Casino revenue cooling off after hot 2022
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Out-of-state competition could be to blame for Indiana’s decline in casino revenue, which slid for the third month in a row in May following a lucrative 2022.
The state’s 12 casinos last month logged $192 million in adjusted gross revenue, the lowest amount all year. That’s a 7.6% decrease from May of last year.
The numbers indicate gambling at Indiana casinos could be cooling off after the gangbuster 2022 fiscal year, when they raked in $2.5 billion in revenue. That translated into more than $691 million in taxes — the highest amount in nearly a decade.
The advent of sports betting in neighboring Ohio and Kentucky could be a reason the state’s casinos are taking a hit, according to an analysis by PlayIndiana.com, which covers the state’s gaming industry.
Indiana legalized sports gambling in 2019 and has benefited from residents in both states driving to Hoosier casinos to make a wager. Ohio this year legalized online sportsbooks and sports betting at casinos. Kentucky is poised to follow suit later in 2023.
That competition already took a bite out Indiana’s sports betting in May, which saw a decrease of more than 8% from the same month last year. Projections indicate wagering could drop by $400 million this year, according to PlayIndiana.com. Last year, Hoosiers bet in total an estimated $4.5 billion.
The dwindling revenue comes even as some casinos launch major expansion projects.
Caesars has invested a combined total of nearly $74 million at its racinos in Anderson and Shelbyville. The $34-million project at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville wrapped up last year, adding 25,000 square feet of floor space and around 100 new jobs.
The $40-million expansion at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Anderson is nearly done and will add 30,000 square feet to the facility, including high-limit areas and a new food outlet on the casino floor. The project will create about 100 new jobs.
A new $245 million casino and hotel is also coming to Terre Haute, offering a resort-style 120-room hotel, rooftop bar and event space. The gaming floor will hold 1,000 slots and 34 table games. The Terre Haute Casino Resort is expected to open in March 2024 and create 500 new jobs.
New out-of-state casinos are sure to cut further into profits at Indiana’s facilities.
The Golden Nugget casino in Danville, Illinois, opened last month. The 41,500-square-foot facility houses 500 slots, 14 game tables and sportsbooks.
A new Bally’s Chicago casino is planned for 2026, with a temporary location opening sooner. Once fully complete, it will be the largest casino in Illinois and present stiff competition to the three casinos in northwest Indiana.
The betting revenue slump so far this year is sure to put a dent in the state’s coffers, which last year hauled in more than $1 billion in gambling-related taxes for the first time in over a decade.
Taxes generated at casinos made up the vast majority of that fiscal jackpot. Other revenue came from the Hoosier Lottery, sports betting and charity gaming.
Gambling taxes go into the state’s general fund, which is Indiana’s primary spending account. Hoosier Lottery money has specific earmarks that lower the motor vehicle excise tax and pay for police and firefighters’ pensions and teachers’ retirement funds.
