A pair of bills in the state legislature could see Indiana online casinos regulated by the end of 2022. The bills would bring table games, slots, and poker to Hoosier’s phones and tablets.
Indiana has taken strongly to sports betting, especially mobile sportsbooks. Now, lawmakers have introduced bills that would expand the state’s gambling options further.
Regulating Indiana Online Casinos Would Create Revenue
Two Indiana online casino bills have already been introduced during the 2022 legislative session, which began on January 4. Representative Alan Morrison, a Republican from Brazil sponsored House Bill 1337 while Rep. Doug Gutwein, a Republican from Francesville introduced House Bill 1356.
Each bill would allow the state’s casinos and racetracks to offer online casinos. The casinos could partner with operators to offer online slot machines and table games like blackjack, roulette, and baccarat.
Currently, Indiana has mobile sports betting but does not have any regulated online casinos. That puts it behind its neighbor Michigan, which is a leader in iGaming. Regulating Indiana online casinos now would also keep the state one step ahead of Illinois, which also only offers regulated online sportsbooks.
Both HB 1337 and HB 1356 would tax adjusted gross online gaming revenue at 18%. The differences in the bills stem from technical language regarding revenue sharing with the communities that host Indiana’s casinos.
Mobile Betting Drives Indiana Sportsbooks
While lawmakers debate whether to allow online casinos and poker, Indiana’s online sportsbooks continue growing. According to figures released by state regulators, Indiana had an overall sports betting handle of $3.82 billion during 2021.
And mobile wagering is responsible for a significant percentage of all Indiana betting. Fully $3.49 billion of the total 2021 handle was derived from mobile bets. Players clearly enjoy the convenience of placing a wager from anywhere at any time.
Driven by a return to semi-normalcy, at least for scheduling, regulated sportsbooks continue to attract significant revenues. A full NFL season combined with a successfully staged March Madness drove Indiana sports betting revenue.
In December, 93% of all Indiana sports bets were placed on mobile devices. Winter will likely drive this percentage even higher in the coming months. And, though no local teams participated, Indiana has already hosted one of the premier events of 2022. Georgia’s recent triumph in the college football national championship game occurred at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium.
