Casinos: Commercial Casinos - Indiana

The state of Indiana legalized riverboat gambling in 1993 with passage of the Riverboat Gambling Act, which was enacted by Public Law 277-1993 and codified as Indiana Code 4-33. The act established the Indiana Gaming Commission and gave it authority to issue up to eleven riverboat licenses in specific areas of the state—in the northwest corner along Lake Michigan, at the southern border along the Ohio River, and around Patoka Lake in the southern part of the state. The Patoka Lake site initially received a riverboat license, but it was later vetoed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The first riverboat began operation in December 1995 in Evansville. By December 1996, six riverboats were operating. By 2002 there were ten in operation, leaving one unused riverboat license. In February 2002 the Indiana Senate passed legislation permitting dockside operation of the riverboats in counties that would accept it. Permanent mooring allows patrons to access the casinos anytime during operating hours rather than just during cruise boarding times. The Senate passed the measure to

FIGURE 4.3

make Indiana casinos more competitive with those in Illinois. The Indiana legislature approved the measure in June 2002. However, a provision that would have transferred the inactive riverboat license from Patoka Lake to Orange County was vetoed. Orange County politicians had hoped to use gambling revenues to renovate two historic hotels and boost employment in the south-central Indiana county.

All ten riverboats were allowed to become dockside casinos in July 2002. The change was accompanied by a change in the wagering tax structure from a 22.5% flat tax on adjusted gross receipts to a graduated tax rate of 15%–35%. A portion of the increased tax revenue is distributed to counties that do not have casinos. The admissions tax remained unchanged at $3 per person. The admissions tax is split three ways, with one dollar each going to the state, county, and city.

In fiscal year 2003 (July 2002–June 2003) there were ten riverboats operating in Indiana as shown in Table 4.5. Five of the casinos were along Lake Michigan and five along the Ohio River. Together, the ten riverboats had 17,601 slot machines and 620 table games in 2003. Games allowed include blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, big six, and poker. Eight of the riverboats are docked at locations with associated land-based hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues. The other two are docked at pavilions offering only dining and shopping.

According to the Indiana Gaming Commission Annual Report to the Governor: Fiscal Year 2004, total river-boat admissions in Indiana were 26,545,058 from July 2003 to June 2004. This number is down dramatically from 41,373,160 during 2001. The total win for riverboat casinos during fiscal year 2004 was $2.31 billion, up from $1.84 billion in 2001. In 2002 southeastern Indiana made up the ninth-largest casino market in the United States in terms of gross revenue, and the combined northwest Indiana/northeast Illinois market was third largest, according to statistics published on the AGA Web site (www.americangaming.org).

As stated in the Indiana Gaming Commission Annual Report, total admission and wagering taxes paid in fiscal year 2004 were $742 million. Total admission and wagering taxes paid from the inception of riverboat gambling in 1995 through 2004 were nearly $3.8 billion.

In November 2003 Orange County voters approved a measure that would allow development of a riverboat casino in their county. As of August 2004 several development proposals were under consideration by state and local authorities.

TABLE 4.5

Indiana casino statistics, fiscal year 2003
	Total admissions	Number of table games	Table game drop	Table game win	Number of electronic gaming devices (EGD)	Coin in	EGD win	Total win	Wagering tax	Admission tax	Total tax
SOURCE: Indiana Casino Statistics, in Indiana Gaming Commission Annual Report to the Governor, Fiscal Year 2003, Indiana Gaming Commission, September 1, 2003, http://www.state.in.us/gaming/reports/annual/FY2003-Annual.pdf (accessed September 28, 2004)
Argosy	3,935,342	95	386,383,201	$74,629,592	2,298	$5,339,912,259	$317,361,185	$391,990,777	$118,405,747	$11,806,026	$130,211,773
Belterra	1,747,023	41	114,546,072	$19,517,399	1,554	$1,492,603,789	$106,223,908	$125,741,307	$29,439,561	$5,241,069	$34,680,630
Blue Chip	2,670,288	50	175,259,282	$30,895,780	1,671	$2,572,735,530	$187,358,828	$218,254,608	$59,321,198	$8,010,864	$67,332,062
Caesars	3,578,173	141	350,765,826	$62,416,589	2,346	$3,076,118,803	$212,517,716	$274,934,305	$78,634,356	$10,734,519	$89,368,875
Aztar	1,526,453	47	87,777,579	$18,333,010	1,351	$1,167,729,048	$93,849,398	$112,182,408	$25,419,359	$4,579,359	$29,998,718
Grand Victoria	1,592,754	39	88,031,707	$16,378,021	1,420	$1,618,004,261	$121,583,730	$137,961,751	$33,112,075	$4,778,262	$37,890,337
Harrah's	3,868,094	65	291,422,006	$52,901,166	1,983	$2,864,127,018	$237,032,820	$289,933,986	$83,434,807	$11,604,282	$95,039,089
Horseshoe	3,778,642	47	445,520,403	$71,565,091	1,687	$3,659,466,338	$267,984,781	$339,549,872	$100,741,633	$11,335,926	$112,077,559
Majestic Star	1,797,564	50	141,729,518	$21,970,273	1,551	$1,525,803,411	$116,724,902	$138,695,175	$33,121,110	$5,392,692	$38,513,802
Trump	1,795,318	45	116,778,298	$18,374,471	1,740	$1,405,090,250	$110,470,197	$128,844,668	$30,132,239	$5,385,954	$35,518,193
Total	26,289,651	620	$2,198,213,892	$386,981,392	17,601	$24,721,590,707	$1,771,107,465	$2,158,088,857	$591,762,085	$78,868,953	$670,631,038

TABLE 4.6

Illinois casino statistics, 1999–2003
	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
*Jo Daviess Silver Eagle ceased operations July 29, 1997.
**On June 26, 1999 DOCKSIDE GAMBLING began in Illinois. On that date the definition of admissions changed to reflect the count of patrons entering the gaming areas. This report reflects that change.
SOURCE: "Five Year History," in 2003 Illinois Gaming Board Annual Report, Illinois Gaming Board, 2004, http://www.igb.state.il.us/annualreport/2003igb.pdf (accessed September 28, 2004)
Licensees	*10	*10	*10	*10	*10
AGR	$1,362,931,231	$1,658,004,361	$1,783, 958,166	$1,831,550,836	$1,709,943,480
Table games	$288,169,419	$308,794,704	$291,01 4,759	$286,980,831	$251,895,773
EGD	$1,074,761,812	$1,349,209,657	$1,492, 943,407	$1,544,570,005	$1,458,047,707
Admissions**	21,991,689**	19,014,939**	18,808,281**	18,821,582**	16,597,552**
AGR per adm	$61.97	$87.19	$94.85	$97.31	$103.02
Total tax	$418,797,333	$512,213,123	$555,20 4,313	$666,101,823	$719,858,219
Wagering tax	$374,813,955	$474,183,245	$517,58 7,751	$619,255,784	$659,882,032
Admissions tax	$43,983,378	$38,029,878	$37,616,562	$46,846,039	$59,976,187
State share	$328,665,137	$410,328,901	$447,22 8,898	$555,702,432	$617,797,595
Local share	$90,132,196	$101,884,222	$107,97 5,415	$110,399,391	$102,060,624