The Indiana Gaming Commission reported $203.9 million in casino win for the month of December, with a strong bounce-back in slot revenue pushing the Hoosier State over the $200 million mark to close out 2022.
The total was a 3.9% increase from the $196.2 million in win for November — the first time it slipped below $200 million since June. Slot revenue for the final month of the year was slightly above $165 million, an increase of 6.5% as 11 of the state’s 12 casinos and racinos had month-over-month gains. They also absorbed a 5.8% decline in table games revenue from the previous month, as house winnings on the felt totaled $38.9 million.
Free play totaled $12.5 million for the month, an increase of half a million dollars from November. The state was able to levy taxes on close to $187.2 million in adjusted revenue, 1.5% more than November.
Sports betting taxes totaled $50.3 million, with an additional $4.1 million levied through supplemental taxes. The $54.3 million in Indiana casino taxes does not include the $4 million-plus generated by the state’s sportsbooks, which reported $42.7 million in operator revenue.
A busy month for one-arm bandits
Five Indiana locations had gains of more than $1 million in month-over-month slot totals. While Horseshoe Indianapolis was not among this quintet, the racino’s $24.1 million was enough to pip Hard Rock Northern Indiana for the top spot in the discipline, as it averaged a state-best $15,497 per position.
Caesars Southern Indiana generated $2 million more in slot revenue compared to November, totaling close to $16.3 million as average revenue per position surged 13.9% to $15,384. Hard Rock was the only other venue to surpass $20 million in slot revenue, checking in at $23.6 million with a 0.7% increase from the previous month. Horseshoe Hammond came up about $25,000 short of $20 million, though that was still enough for a 4.1% increase compared to November.
The only venue to have a month-over-month decline in slot revenue was Belterra, but the dip at the Florence location was just $20,000 as it claimed more than $6.3 million in winnings for a second consecutive month.
Hard Rock continues to rule the table games scene
Hard Rock, which paced all venues with $33.8 million in overall win, generated $10.3 million of that from its table games. It was again the only venue to reach eight figures on the felt, doing so for the fourth consecutive month — though December’s total was 15.3% off November’s haul of $12.1 million.
A substantial portion of Hard Rock’s table revenue decline can be attributed to better player performance in baccarat. While table drop actually increased by nearly half a million dollars from November to $25.2 million and again averaged more than $1 million per table, revenue tailed off 31.4% to $4.2 million.
Hard Rock was not the only other venue with a steep month-over-month decline, as Horseshoe Hammond got knocked back 13.4% while finishing with $1 million less than November. Baccarat revenue was off 30%, but craps rollers also got their shots in, as the $650,000 in revenue was 34.5% lower than the previous month.
Caesars Southern Indiana slipped back under $5 million for the first time since September, as revenue dropped 9.9% to $4.8 million. The drop in baccarat revenue in Elizabeth was also pronounced, plunging 60% to $525,000 as handle also dropped 20.8%.
However, six venues posted higher revenue compared to November. The biggest jump came at Belterra, where revenue nearly doubled to $1.6 million. Of that total, $1.4 million came from blackjack and craps, compared to $560,000 combined from table games the previous month.
Harrah’s Hoosier Park also rebounded to get back above $2 million, a 26.1% improvement as all five table games offered saw month-over-month rises. House-banked poker revenue spiked 66% higher to $450,000, and baccarat win jumped 60% to $290,000.
Photo: Shutterstock
