NWI Indiana casino gaming numbers defy economic concerns in February 2023

Indiana’s gaming industry has stayed strong despite concerns about continued economic pressures, posting earnings of about $204.9 million in February, according to the monthly revenue report from the Indiana Gaming Commission.

The figure represents a more than $3 million increase over February 2022 when earnings posted were $201.3 million, and an bump of about $1.5 million over January 2023, the report shows.

“It’s a great story for the state and a great outlook for our industry. From an economic perspective we always keep an eye on things that might impact our customers,” Matt Schuffert, president and CEO of Hard Rock Northern Indiana, said.

Hard Rock Northern Indiana remains the state’s top overall earning casino with revenues of about $34.4 million in February while Ameristar Casino in East Chicago posted the top sports book handle in the state at more than $121.8 million, according to the IGC.

“Certainly, it was a very strong February for us with nearly a 10% growth year-over-year,” Schuffert said.

“It’s great to still see our casino business still growing nearly two years into this now,” he said. Hard Rock first opened in May of 2021. Mild February weather helped spur business.

Ameristar saw total revenues of about $16.5 million in February, a slight dip from the $16.6 million posted in January, and down year-over-year from $18.1 million in February 2022, according to the IGC.

Horseshoe Hammond brought in $27.9 million in February 2023 compared to $28.7 for the same month last year and to $28.9 million in January, about a 2.8% decrease year-over-year and month-over-month, the figures show.

Hard Rock’s fledgling sports book had a handle of $6.3 million in February, while Horseshoe’s sports book handle was $3.1 million for the month, according to the IGC report.