Indiana Casinos Remain Open With New Restrictions, For Now

The increasing number of COVID-19 cases nationwide is causing unease among casinos.

Indeed, in Indiana, they are witnessing a record-breaking number of positive tests weekly, which is certainly the case.

The increasing figures have compelled the Indiana Gaming Commission to introduce a fresh set of regulations for the state’s casinos. These recent rules will assist casinos in adhering to Indiana’s new COVID strategy.

Indiana's new COVID plan

Since the onset of the pandemic, Indiana has adhered to Gov. Holcomb’s “Back on Track” plan. This plan outlined guidelines for the reopening and capacity limits of restaurants, casinos, and other public locations.

Recently, the Hoosier State abandoned that plan and instead adopted a county by county approach.

The new plan assigns color codes to individual counties according to the number of new COVID cases.

Counties that are blue are thriving, while yellow counties are in a moderate condition. Those that are orange are in a critical situation and red counties are in distress. As of November 18, all counties in Indiana are either in a critical or distressed state, with the exception of Putnam county which maintains a moderate status.

Every Wednesday, the color map is updated with new data from the previous week.

With the implementation of the new system, casinos now face additional challenges.

New coronavirus regulations for casinos in Indiana

Since reopening in June, Indiana’s casinos have been adhering to a variety of new rules.

Since then, temperature checks and face masks have been standard, but now there will be a few more changes for casino visitors to navigate.

For instance, up until the present, in Indiana’s casinos, gamblers were allowed to take off their masks for eating, drinking or smoking.

This resulted in some tension at venues such as Caesars Southern Indiana, because gamblers were able to forgo wearing masks for long durations, provided they had a drink beside them.

Eventually, Caesars Southern banned eating, drinking, and smoking on the casino floor to mitigate the situation.

The new rules of the gaming commission go a step beyond.

Casinos located in orange and red counties need to designate new areas for eating, drinking, and smoking while maintaining social distancing. This means the end of removing your mask to have a drink while playing at a slot machine.

Given that 91 out of 92 counties in the state are currently colored orange or red, this rule essentially serves as a general requirement for all casinos across the state.

A casino located in a red county will automatically have its maximum capacity reduced by 15%.

Currently, this is applicable to Hollywood Lawrenceburg in Dearborn County, which is highlighted in red.

Ameristar East Chicago, Horseshoe Hammond, and Majestic Star Casinos in Lake County are all in the same situation.

For now, casinos in Indiana are still open.

Casinos in Indiana will remain open, at least for now.

The gaming commission is hopeful that these new rules will prevent future issues, as another shutdown is something the industry desperately wants to avoid.

The gaming industry is highly focused on avoiding a second shutdown, as the three-month closure earlier this year resulted in a significant number of workers being permanently laid off.

Casinos are required to comply with the new rules within 24 hours if their county is upgraded to orange or red status, as a means of assistance.

Conversely, if a county improves to a better color category such as yellow or blue, it must maintain that status for at least two weeks before casinos in the region can lift additional restrictions.

Extra precautions might be required for casino workers and gamblers, but the main objective is to ensure everyone’s safety.

For now, Indiana is adhering to this plan. Yet, if the number of COVID-19 cases persistently increases in the upcoming weeks, alterations may be made.

For the time being, monitor the color status of your county to determine if additional restrictions will be applied to your preferred casino.