Indiana casino earnings slip again in June
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It remains true in the gaming industry that the house always wins. Lately, however, the houses in Indiana have been winning a little bit less.
Data released Tuesday by the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) show statewide casino "win," or revenue after paying successful bettors, fell in June for a third consecutive month.
Altogether, Indiana casinos tallied $197.2 million in win for June, a 7% decrease compared to May's win of $211.9 million, which was 8% less than April's win of $229.1 million.
Last month's win was down 16.2% from this year's peak of $235.2 million in statewide win recorded in March, and 14.6% less than the $230.9 million in win from June 2021, records show.
The falloff in casino earnings largely tracks with the nation's high inflation rate and the end of various federal COVID-19 relief and economic stimulus programs aimed at shoring up the post-pandemic economy.
But there is hope on the horizon if the the Republican-controlled General Assembly in coming weeks enacts Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb's proposal to return another share of the state's bulging budget reserves back to Hoosier taxpayers in the form of a $225 payment in August or September, on top of the $125 payments already being distributed.
IGC records show the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary remained the state's top-earning casino in June with $33.1 million in win. Its nearest rival, the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, racked up $28.3 million in win, or 15% less than Hard Rock.
Though the June win at both casinos was down compared to previous months. Hard Rock's June win slid 8.9% from May, 13.4% from April and 14.1% from March. Horseshoe's win last month fell 2.3% versus May, 11.3% relative to April and 17.7% from March, according to IGC data.
A similar falloff occurred at the Ameristar Casino in East Chicago whose June win of $16.2 million was 7.3% less than its May win of $17.5 million and 18.9% off its $20 million in March win.
The June win of $10.5 million at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City was down 12.9% compared to May and 18.1% less than its $12.8 million in March win.
In contrast, Indiana's statewide casino win grew from $209 million in March 2021 to $211.7 million in April 2021, grew again to $220.8 million in May 2021, and grew still higher to $230.8 million in June 2021, IGC records show.
Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana President Matt Schuffert said even though June historically is the slowest month of the year for Northwest Indiana casinos, Hard Rock last month enjoyed its 4th largest revenue month since opening May 14, 2021, and the Gary casino bested its June 2021 win by nearly 28%.
"In June, we increased our number of slot machines by adding many classic reel machines as requested by our guests. We continue to lead the state of Indiana in slot and table games volume and win as a credit to not only the convenient, high-quality facility we have built, but a testament to the great job that our band members do each and every day," Schuffert said.
"We are in the middle of our strong summer entertainment schedule and look forward to announcing many more shows soon," he added.
Enthusiasm for sports wagering also waned again in June with Hoosiers risking just $256.3 million on sporting events, compared to $308.4 million in May, data show.
In total, Indiana in June collected $64.2 million in tax revenue from slot machine and table game play, and another $1.5 million from settled sports wagers, according to the IGC.
