Indiana Casinos to Begin Sports Betting

A pair of northwest Indiana casinos will soon add sports wagering to their offerings. Horseshoe Hammond Casino and Ameristar Casino East Chicago are both set to open sports betting areas at their respective casinos ahead of the kickoff to the 2019 NFL season.

Horseshoe Hammond will open The Book, a 5,300-square-foot sports book which will allow people to wager on a variety of sports, including football, basketball, baseball and hockey, beginning September 4. The casino says there will be other opportunities for sports wagering, including auto racing, boxing, mixed martial arts, and the Olympics.

The Book is one of seven sports books planned to open in September at Caesars locations in Indiana. The other locations include Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson, Horseshoe Southern Indiana, Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville, and Winner's Circle locations in Indianapolis New Haven.

"The legalization of sports betting in Indiana presents a huge opportunity for Horseshoe Hammond," said Dan Nita, regional president of Caesars Entertainment, the parent of Horseshoe Hammond. "We recognize the need to continually evolve and offer our guests new and exciting entertainment experiences. We are proud to be among the first in Indiana to offer sports betting. I’m optimistic of the positive effect this will have on attracting new customers to our casino."

Ameristar parent Penn National Gaming Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) says its casino will begin offering sports betting September 1. The casino will feature sports betting kiosks and ticket writer stations, as well as a new sports book near the main entrance and the Stadium Sports Bar and Grill.

"Our customers are very excited to start wagering on sports," said Matt Schuffert, general manager at Ameristar Casino East Chicago. “The passion for Indiana and Illinois sports teams runs deep in this region, and we look forward to becoming a destination for fans all year-round.”

Chicago Bears legends Mike Ditka and Devin Hester will be on hand to celebrate the first wagers at the Ameristar Casino.

The move comes months after the Indiana General Assembly passed House Enrolled Act 1015, which legalized sports betting at Indiana casinos and via smartphones. The bill was signed into law by Governor Eric Holcomb in May.

Horseshoe Hammond says it also plans to introduce mobile sports betting technology in the near future.




http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/40934632/indiana-casinos-to-begin-sports-betting

Can't wait, I'll be there first day.

The casinos on Lake Michigan will make a killing with Chicago and Michigan players. Its only 45 minutes from Mich to Chicago.

FairWarning said:

Can't wait, I'll be there first day.

The casinos on Lake Michigan will make a killing with Chicago and Michigan players. Its only 45 minutes from Mich to Chicago.

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It's nice to see different states starting legal sports betting......it's about time!

Hope it makes it down here to Southern Indiana as well

Ego74 said:

Hope it makes it down here to Southern Indiana as well

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I believe all of downstate will have it right away also. The only one I haven’t seen any news for is Four Winds in South Bend. They are the only Indian-owner casino in the state.

Ego74 said:

Hope it makes it down here to Southern Indiana as well

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Indiana sports betting: 11 sportsbooks could open next month, mobile still unknown


Two gaming companies announced Monday that they expect to open a total of eight sportsbooks throughout Indiana in the month of September — two of which the companies hope to open before the NFL regular season kicks off.

Ameristar Casino East Chicago expects to launch sports betting Sept. 1, and Horseshoe Hammond Casino expects to open its sportsbook Sept. 4, the casinos' operators said in press releases.

Caesars Entertainment, which operates Horseshoe Hammond, also hopes to open six more sportsbooks throughout the state in September. Those books will be at:

Harrah's Hoosier Park in Anderson

Horseshoe Southern Indiana in Elizabeth

Indiana Grand Racing and Casino in Shelbyville

Winner's Circle off-track betting locations in downtown Indianapolis, New Haven and Clarksville

A total of 11 sportsbooks could open in Indiana next month. Boyd Gaming told IndyStar last week that it hopes to open sportsbooks at its Indiana casinos — Belterra in Florence and Blue Chip in Michigan City — in September. Tropicana Evansville also said its sportsbook will open in September.

State gaming officials could not confirm any launch dates on Monday. Jenny Reske, deputy director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, said no operators have yet met all of the state's regulatory requirements.

Neither Caesars nor Penn National Gaming, which operates Ameristar East Chicago, addressed whether they will offer mobile sports wagering with the opening of their casino sportsbooks. Spokespeople for the companies did not immediately respond to phone calls from IndyStar.

Indiana gaming officials have previously said it may take longer to roll out mobile sports betting than retail sports betting. Reske said Monday that most operators, if not all of them, will launch retail betting first, followed by mobile betting.

Ameristar East Chicago's sportsbook will be located near the casino's Stadium Sports Bar and Grill, and will feature a betting counter, odds boards, betting kiosks and ticket writer stations.

Chicago Bears legends Mike Ditka and Devin Hester will place celebratory wagers Sept. 1 to mark the sportsbook's opening, Penn National Gaming said in a press release.

Horseshoe Hammond's 5,300-square-foot sportsbook, dubbed The Book, will launch one day before the Bears take on the Green Bay Packers in Chicago on Sept. 5 for the first game of the 2019-2020 NFL regular season. The Book will feature a high-resolution LED video wall, six betting counters, lounge chairs and couches, Caesars said in a release.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill in May that legalized sports betting in the state beginning Sept. 1. Indiana's move came on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that declared unconstitutional a 1992 law that banned state-sponsored sports gambling.

What you'll be able to bet on
In addition to major professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA and MLB, you'll also be able to bet on less popular sports like darts, cricket, rugby and sailing. Hockey, boxing, soccer and mixed martial arts will also be available to bet on.

Wagers on the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL and WNBA drafts will also be available.

A full list of leagues and events you can bet on can be found on the Indiana Gaming Commission's website.

You'll also be able to make proposition bets, which are bets regarding an occurrence within a game. An example of a proposition bet is betting that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck throws four touchdown passes against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 of the NFL season.

14 locations permitted to take bets
The Indiana Gaming Commission has allowed 14 places throughout the state to conduct sports betting as early as Sept. 1. Those locations are:

Ameristar Casino in East Chicago

Tropicana Evansville

Belterra Casino Resort in Florence

Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City

French Lick Casino

Horseshoe Southern in Elizabeth

Indiana Grand Racing and Casino in Shelbyville

Rising Star Casino Resort in Rising Sun

Harrah's Hoosier Park in Anderson

Horseshoe Hammond

Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg

Winner's Circle off-track betting locations in Downtown Indianapolis, Clarksville and New Haven





https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.indystar.com/amp/2052752001

[FONT=&quot][h=3]Analysts: Indiana Sports Betting Starts Strong[/h]Posted: Oct 11, 2019 10:06 AM EDTUpdated: Oct 11, 2019 12:51 PM EDTBy Wes Mills, Content ManagerCONNECT





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[FONT=&quot]INDIANAPOLIS -After one month of legal sports gambling in Indiana, the state gaming commission says bettors placed $34.5 million in wagers, most of that going towards football which accounts for 60 percent of the bets placed.
Though sports betting is now legal throughout the state, the IGC says northwest Indiana, fueled by the Chicago market, attracted a majority of the wagering.
"Indiana's sportsbooks are in their infancy, but their ability to capitalize on the Chicago market did not take long to produce dividends," Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayIndiana.com, a Las Vegas-based media company that covers the gambling industry.
More than a quarter of the sports bets in September were placed at Hammond Horseshoe which took in $9 million, followed by Ameristar Casino in East Chicago with more than $5 million and Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City with nearly $4 million.
Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, near Cincinnati, accepted $5 million in bets.
"This is the largest handle we've seen in a state's first month of legal sports betting, and it happened without the benefit of online sports betting, which didn't launch until October. That is a testament to Indiana's existing infrastructure," said Gouker.
For the first month, sports bets were placed in-person. But starting on October 4, mobile sports wagering began operating through two companies.
Analysts say with the addition of more online outlets, Indiana’s handle will likely climb even higher.
"The ability to make online and mobile bets, though, should send the state's handle into a new stratosphere. Indiana is clearly on a trajectory to become one of the country's largest legal sports betting markets," said Kim Yuhl, managing editor for PlayIndiana.com.
With the Majestic Star casinos in Gary set to close next year, replaced by Hard Rock Casino Gary, the operation is not accepting sports wagers.
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Horseshoe Casino Hammond took in $9M in sports bets in September.​

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Ego74 said:

Hope it makes it down here to Southern Indiana as well

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It has

AlexanderOgden said:

Great news, but I wonder how they'll protect it by law. I've been playing [bitcoin poker on Indian servers for years and I'm worried about going to jail, but there's nothing I can do about this desire to play on friday night in poker for money. To a certain extent, I make money for a living. How they'll solve the issue of taxes is also very interesting. I think they'll bet a percentage of the winnings, don't you think? Or maybe they'll make a tax at the rate. In any case, I wish you all the best of luck.

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Where can I find some more info?

Offshore books would probably never have gotten off the ground if legalize sports betting existed when they would have started up. Sure they offered better juice, larger limits and credit service for known customers but they would have struggled. Bettors wouldn't have taken risks knowing they might get stiffed where in the US your money is safe. The market they would have built would have been enormous. Billions of dollars in revenue to the states over the time offshore's first showed up. It's funny how many of states that objected to legalized wagering are all jumping on board now due to the Pandemic.