Is it a sign of a slowing economy or just a one month blip? Ironically, there's no way to legally bet on the answer to that question.
Data released Friday by the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) show statewide casino win — or revenue after paying successful bettors — dropped to $186.7 million in September, down 3.9% compared to September 2024 and the lowest monthly haul so far this year.
Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana led the way as the state's highest earning gaming destination for a 47th consecutive month with $32.5 million in September win, or more than 17% of the total win from the state's 13 commercial casinos.
Though that also was down 13% compared to Hard Rock's $37.4 million in September 2024 win, according to the IGC.
Data show Hard Rock’s state-leading slot machine play totaled $245 million in September, with a state-best win of $24 million; compared to September 2024 slot win of $27.6 million on $279.3 million in play.
The Steel City casino also led the state for September table game play, primarily baccarat, with $40.3 million, and was tops in table win at $8.5 million.
According to the IGC, the state's onetime earnings leader, Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, last month ranked fourth behind its Horseshoe Indianapolis and Harrah's Hoosier Park sister properties with $19.2 million in win — up 0.9% from its September 2024 win of $19 million.
Monthly win at Ameristar Casino in East Chicago dropped by 9.5% to $11.4 million in September compared with $12.6 million for the same month in the prior year.
Likewise, win at Blue Chip Casino, in Michigan City, fell to $9.8 million versus $9.9 million last September, a decrease of 0.5%, according to the IGC.
The Illinois Gaming Board has yet to release its casino revenue report for September, so the Indiana results cannot immediately be compared to monthly earnings at the Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino, located on the border of Homewood and East Hazel Crest, Bally's Casino in downtown Chicago, or the new, land-based Hollywood Casino in Joliet.
Back in Indiana, data shows the Hoosier State's online and retail sports wagering handle was $531.8 million last month, compared with $483.8 million in September 2024. The all-time monthly record for sports bets in Indiana is $614.4 million, set in November 2024.
In total, Indiana in September collected in $38.9 million in tax revenue from slot machine and table game play, and $4 million from settled sports wagers, according to the IGC.
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