Indiana casinos' revenue dips to $217.9M in March, while sports betting soars with a 32.5% increase

In March, Indiana's casinos witnessed a slight dip in revenue, while sports betting revenue saw a significant increase, according to the latest report from the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC). The state's 12 casinos generated a total of $217.9 million in adjusted gaming revenues, marking a 3.4% decrease from the $225.7 million recorded in the same period last year.

After accounting for deductions, the taxable revenue amounted to $211.4 million, resulting in $65.4 million in wagering taxes and an additional $4.6 million from the supplemental tax paid by nine casinos based on admissions.

Despite the overall decline in revenue, three of the top four revenue-generating casinos experienced year-over-year growth. Hard Rock North Indiana in Gary reported taxable revenues of $38.2 million, up about $1.3 million from last year. Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville reported a $1.4 million rise in revenues, reaching $29.2 million, while Caesars Southern Indiana in Elizabeth saw a $2.2 million increase to $23 million.

Horseshoe Indianapolis

However, these gains were nearly offset by the $4.7 million drop in revenue reported by Horseshoe Hammond, which is located near the Illinois state line in Northwestern Indiana. The casino's taxable revenues for March stood at $27.9 million. 

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, the state's casino wagering tax revenue has decreased by $1.2 million compared to last year, totaling $415 million. The supplemental tax has also seen a decline of over $730,000, amounting to $37.6 million.

On the other hand, Indiana's gaming tax revenue has experienced growth thanks to the robust performance of sports betting operators. When combined with the sports betting tax, the state has collected $484.4 million in taxes during the first nine months of the fiscal year, an increase from the $478.6 million recorded last year.

Caesars Southern Indiana

March marked the fifth time in the past six months that the state's sportsbooks saw a decrease in year-to-year handles while taxable revenues increased. Driven by the NCAA basketball tournaments, Indiana bettors placed $433 million in wagers, a 9.2% drop from March 2022. Nevertheless, the 14 in-person sportsbooks and 13 online operators generated $42.8 million in revenue, a 32.5% increase from the previous year.

The state taxes sports betting revenue at a rate of 9.5%, resulting in $4 million generated in March, which is $1 million more than the amount collected in March 2022. The rise in sports betting revenue can be attributed to an increase in parlay betting, which involves making multiple wagers on a single bet.

In March, the IGC reported that bettors placed $127.9 million in parlay wagers, up from $121.3 million the year before.

Horseshoe Hammond casino sportsbook

FanDuel and DraftKings continue to lead the Indiana market, with the two online gaming giants accounting for nearly 65% of betting traffic. They also held a combined 69.2% share of revenues, with FanDuel reporting $16.2 million and DraftKings earning $13.4 million.