Indiana Casinos Perform Very Well Amid COVID-19 Restrictions

Indiana’s casinos have been open for more than a month now.

Betting commenced on June 15, the first day since casinos had closed for business in mid-March.

As everything was closed, online sports betting emerged as the sole income source for the gambling industry in Indiana. Casinos that lacked an online sportsbook partner experienced months without any incoming revenue.

Even though it was their first month of resuming operations, the majority of casinos in the Hoosier State reported robust numbers.

Casinos couldn’t accumulate a full month’s worth of revenue since they were open only for half of June.

Nevertheless, Indiana casinos were still surpassing the usual pace for June. Had they been open throughout the entire month, it’s likely their revenue would have surpassed their pre-pandemic figures.

Indiana gamblers remain undeterred despite the pandemic.

Currently, a trip to the casino involves many additional procedures.

This is due to the fact that all casinos within the state are required to adhere to numerous new safety regulations to help curb the spread of COVID-19. These regulations encompass aspects such as mandatory mask wearing at certain establishments, and restrictions on the number of players at table games.

Despite having to adhere to new guidelines, Hoosiers still flocked to the state’s casinos.

Concerns about the health crisis deterring bettors from visiting Indiana casinos have been assuaged, at least for now.

The adjusted gross revenues subject to tax for most casinos have already returned to the levels before the pandemic.

If the casinos had reopened on June 1 rather than June 15, they would have been on track to exceed the typical June revenue for most of the state’s casinos. Here is a comparison of each casino’s revenue for June 2020 with its average revenue for the same month from 2017 to 2019:

Casino	June 2020 Revenue	Projected Revenue, Had Casinos Been Open All Month	Average June Revenue 2017-2019
Total Revenue	$98,904,685	$197,809,370	$176,678,201
Ameristar	$11,231,827	$22,463,654	$17,725,093
Belterra	$4,450,287	$8,900,574	$9,385,855
Blue Chip	$6,011,591	$12,023,182	$12,935,749
Caesars Southern Indiana	$9,584,716	$19,169,432	$19,402,084
French Lick	$2,625,239	$5,250,478	$8,118,676
Harrah’s Hoosier Park	$8,510,048	$17,020,096	$15,316,930
Hollywood Lawrenceburg	$9,508,822	$19,017,644	$13,921,651
Horseshoe Hammond	$19,503,240	$39,006,480	$32,250,531
Indiana Grand	$12,455,646	$24,911,292	$20,124,592
Majestic Star	$4,308,515	$8,617,030	$7,286,254
Majestic Star II	$1,593,363	$3,186,726	$4,907,186
Rising Star	$2,389,032	$4,778,064	$3,825,931
Tropicana Evansville	$6,732,359	$13,464,718	$11,477,669

Given the circumstances, numerous casinos in Indiana outperformed expectations. This indicates that there was an accumulated betting desire during the lockdown period when people were confined indoors.

Casinos located near the border of Illinois performed exceptionally well.

For instance, due to their proximity to Chicago, Ameristar and Horseshoe Hammond definitely reaped benefits.

The geographic advantage was even more pronounced in June, as casinos in Illinois did not reopen until July. With all establishments still closed, Illinois gamblers had no choice but to head to the Indiana border.

Revenue from table games remains robust

June surprisingly saw a strong performance from table games.

Casinos have to adhere to numerous anti-coronavirus regulations for table games.

Currently, table games are limited to a maximum of three players. Roulette allows up to four players, while craps has a cap of six players.

Numerous table games were either removed from casino floors or sectioned off to encourage social distancing.

In June, Indiana casinos garnered over $16.6 million solely from table games. Had the casinos been operational for the entire month, they were projected to surpass the $33 million mark.

The combined average for casinos in June from 2017 to 2019 was $27.5 million, which is significantly less than that amount.

Despite having fewer games available and fewer players participating, the revenue from table games was still projected to surpass the average earnings of June.

The robust performance is undoubtedly a pleasant one, and hopefully, it will persist in the coming months.

The July’s figures will not be released by the Indiana Gaming Commission until August 10.

Nonetheless, if those figures are released, they are anticipated to be comparable to a standard month at least. If July mirrors June’s performance, we might be looking at another unexpectedly high revenue month ahead.