Indiana Casino Win Down in May But Still Exceeds $200 Million

Indiana casinos had their win totals dip a bit in May, but the state’s 12 commercial gaming facilities still combined to top $200 million for the fourth consecutive month.

The total casino win includes revenue derived from table games and electronic gaming devices (EGDs, or slot machines). In May, the state’s total win was $211,895,475. That was down 7.5% from April ($229,117,712) and a 4.1% decrease from May 2021 ($220,846,734) in a year-over-year comparison.

The taxable adjusted gaming revenue AGR for Gaming was $201.6 million in May, compared to $215.3 million the previous month and $212.2 million in May 2021.

The state made $189.85 million from slots and $45.37 million via table games in May.

There is no real money online gaming in Indiana so all wagers are placed at brick-and-mortar casinos.

The top casino in revenue for May was Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary, with total win of $36,320,339, according to figures from the Indiana Gaming Commission. Hard Rock made $26.2 million from slots and $12.3 million with table games.

In second and third place were two Horseshow facilities in nearly a dead heat. Horseshoe Hammond reported $28.94 million in win for the month and Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville had $28.79 million.

Harrah's Hoosier Park in Anderson ($21 million) and Caesars Southern Indiana in Elizabeth ($20.3 million) rounded out the top five grossing casinos in Indiana.

Total tax paid to the state by the casinos came to $75.68 million for the month.

According to the American Gaming Association, Indiana’s 12 commercial casinos have a combined economic impact of nearly $4 billion and support more than 22,000 jobs.

The sports betting handle exceeded $300 million in Indiana for the ninth consecutive month. But the amount wagered came to $308.4 million, down 14.3% from April ($360 million).

The year-over-year numbers were more encouraging for gaming advocates, as that handle last month was 21.2% higher than May 2021, when it was $254.45 million.

As in most states with a legal, regulated mobile sports betting market, the vast majority of the action came from mobile devices. Of that $308.4 million total wagered, $290.4 million was in mobile sports betting handle, or 94.2%.

The revenue (taxable AGR) for sports betting did increase in a month-over-month comparison, going up 7% from $28.66 million in April to $30.66 million in May. And revenue was up 62.6% compared to the $18.85 million recorded 12 months earlier. The sports wagering tax came to $2.9 million in May.

There were hopes that Indiana would join the list of states with iGaming soon, but that push died out early this year.

In January, two bills that would have legalized online gaming in Indiana withered in committee.

The six states with iGaming are New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Michigan, Connecticut and West Virginia. Those states have also legalized online poker along with Nevada.

Still, companies hoping to offer iGaming in Indiana are keeping an eye on the state.

For instance, in April, PlayUp agreed to a deal to gain market access in the Hoosier State when online gaming becomes legal there. The company has iGaming access now in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (and Iowa, which does not yet offer online gaming) and has sports betting deals in Indiana and Iowa.