Indiana’s 12 casinos generated $207.6 million of revenue across all forms of gambling in October. That was the eighth time this year that the state managed to pass that $200 million benchmark.
State collects more tax money year over year
Indiana online casinos are still prohibited, but that might be changing early next year. Lawmakers seem poised to approve online gambling in the next legislative session.
In the meantime, the state’s brick and mortar casinos are still around to give gamblers plenty of options.
While revenue from these physical casinos dropped slightly year over year (-3.2%; $214.5 million revenue), the state still managed collected more tax money this time around. October 2022’s tax bill was $52.9 million, up 3.1% from the $51.3 million paid in 2021.
Sportsbooks made another $46.9 million in taxable adjusted gross revenue (AGR), producing $4.45 million of this month’s total taxes. That amount was the third-highest tax contribution in the state’s three-year sports betting history.
Slots dominate casino revenue
Slot and table game revenue encountered a roughly 80/20 split in October, with slots accounting for $167.2 million (-5% YoY) of total winnings. Table game winnings made up the remaining $40.4 million (+4.5% YoY).
After factoring in $12.4 million in bonus bets and $40.7 million in other deductions, taxable AGR became $189.2 million, equating to $44.3 million in taxes from the two verticals.
The state’s supplemental tax added another $4.16 million, making it the third-largest contributor behind casino and sports betting.
Hard Rock tops the charts for both slots and table games
Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana led the state in revenue for the 13th straight month. The Gary casino reported $36.3 million in winnings ($24.7 million slot win; $11.6 million table win).
Hard Rock’s October revenue was just below September’s $36.5 million ($23.8 million slot win; $12.7 million table win) but up 12% YoY.
Horseshoe Hammond ($29.1 million; -7.9% YoY) regained the No. 2 position on the list after its sister property, Horseshoe Indianapolis ($27.8 million; +2.6% YoY), barely passed it in September. The two casinos generated $27.3 million and $27.4 million last month, respectively.
Caesars Southern Indiana ($21.2 million; -0.8% YoY) retained the fourth spot, while Harrah’s Hoosier Park ($19.9 million; -6.9% YoY) missed $20 million for the second straight month after reaching it in July and August.
Four more casinos logged $10-plus million wins for the month: Ameristar ($15.9 million), Bally’s Evansville ($14.9 million), Hollywood Lawrenceburg ($13.8 million) and Blue Chip Casino ($11.1 million).
In order, the bottom three casinos were: Belterra Casino ($7.5 million), French Lick Resort ($6.6 million) and Rising Star Casino ($3.5 million).
Sports betting activity remains strong
Indiana sportsbooks took in $446.2 million of October bets, up 16.7% from September and the sixth-highest handle in state history. The total handle was a 3.2% decrease YoY, but a 10.5% hold produced $46.9 million in revenue, good for $4.45 million in taxes (+69% YoY).
Breaking down the numbers, football took the lion’s share of the bets.
Sportsbooks recorded a total of $168.6 million in football bets, though the Indiana Gaming Commission records parlays in its own category. In reality, football probably accounted for over half of all sports bets in October.
Betting breakdown:
- Football: $168.6 million
- Parlay: $126.2 million
- Basketball: $57.1 million
- Baseball: $32.5 million
- Other: $62.4 million
As for sportsbook operators, Ameristar (DraftKings) recorded the highest handle ($153.3 million), but its $12.7 million AGR was second for the month. Blue Chip Casino (FanDuel) had $18.6 million in AGR from its $135.7 million handle.
Combined, these two accounted for 64.7% of handle and two-thirds of taxable revenue. Belterra/BetMGM ($44.3 million handle; $4.66 million AGR) was third, with Hollywood Lawrenceburg/Barstool ($36.6 million handle; $4.1 million AGR) following in fourth.
Harrah’s Hoosier Park/Caesars ($36.5 million handle; $3.2 million AGR) rounded out the top five, and all other sportsbooks reported less than $1 million in AGR for the month.
Fiscal YTD tax revenue is ahead of last year
Since the start of the 2023 fiscal year in July, the state has earned $171.3 million in casino gaming taxes. That number is up 1.2% YoY from last October’s $169.3 million YTD total.
FY 2022 total tax amounted to $689 million, up 18% YoY from FY 2021 ($582.8 million). Last year was strong compared to those in the past, setting the bar high for the next eight months.
Regardless, post-pandemic tax revenue is outpacing recent years.
- FY 2022: $689 million
- FY 2021: $582.8 million
- FY 2020: $425.8 million
- FY 2019: $590.8 million
- FY 2018: $602.4 million
- FY 2017: $596.9 million
- FY 2016: $602.1 million
- FY 2015: $617.9 million
