Many states all over the US started to loosen coronavirus-related restrictions and this also includes ending shutdowns imposed on land-based casinos. The results weren’t the best, despite the best efforts by regulators and operators to maximize social distancing and ensure best health practices. In fact, the results were pretty mixed, depending on the state you’re looking at.
For example, Las Vegas has been struggling to hit the revenue goal set after the lockdown. Moreover, Ohio decided to lift restrictions and let the casinos operate starting last month. However, one of the states that actually made great revenue after the shutdown was Indiana.
Operators were allowed to return to work on June 15, and the gamblers were eager to get back to their favorite pastime. In fact, the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) released rather interesting figures recently, displaying that gamblers were pretty active and that the revenue in July was just a bit lower compared to the same period last year.
Overview of the IGC’s Report on Revenue
There are a total of 13 gaming properties that are currently located within the borders of Indiana. All of them managed to hit the gross gaming revenue of $175.8 million during July. This includes slots, table games, and sports wagers. Compared to July 2019, there was only a $10.1 million dip, which is a decline by 5.4%.
These results are rather impressive since the social distancing and health restrictions have been active all along. In other words, the number of games was limited, as well as the number of players per table. Moreover, social distancing measures require operating only part of the total capacity, but that didn’t stop gamblers from Indiana to go to their favorite casinos and play games such as slots, craps, roulette, and more.
Only three players were allowed at table games, and roulette allowed a maximum of four players per table. Six players were allowed to attend craps tables. Moreover, the total number of slots inside casinos was reduced to ensure social distancing and poker still isn’t allowed in Indiana casinos.
One of the properties that really made impressive revenue last month was Horseshoe Hammond, a casino owned by Caesars Entertainment. According to the report released by the IGC, this property alone managed to earn a total of $30.5 million in gross gaming revenue, which is only $2 million less year-on-year. The next casino in line was the Indiana Grand that reported the revenue of $26.05 million. The third place is occupied by Ameristar Casino which earned $20.79 million.
It’s important to mention that sports wagering played a very significant role in getting the numbers back up. Last year, there was virtually no sports betting option in Indiana as it was legalized in May 2019. During the summer, there were no betting options, as the initial three were issued licensed in September 2019. Only two months after licenses were awarded, the sports gambling market in Indiana started reporting a huge revenue increase
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