Indiana Launches Sports Betting In Time For NFL SeasonChicagoland Area Sportsbooks Give Windy City Residents Somewhere To Bet On Season Opening Bears-Packers Matchup |
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Once the calendar page flipped from August to September, Indiana residents officially became able to legally bet on sports.
Ameristar Casino in East Chicago was the first property in the state to accept wagers, opening it’s sportsbook on Sunday. According to local news outlets, there was a line forming to get in as early as 9 a.m.
“We’re not only excited to open one of the first sporting books in the state of Indiana, but more importantly in the Chicagoland area,” Matt Schuffert, the casino’s vice president and general manager, told the local ABC affiliate.
Currently, northwestern Indiana is the closest location for residents of Chicago to gamble. Illinois passed sports betting legislation earlier this year that will also bring a casino to the Windy City, but the implementation of sports betting in Illinois is still months away. The casino is even farther down the time line.
Horseshoe Hammond, home of one of the largest World Series of Poker Circuit stops due to its proximity to Chicago, opened its sportsbook Wednesday.
Both Chicago-area casinos will give gamblers a place to wager on their hometown Chicago Bears, who play the first game of the NFL season against the Green Bay Packers Thursday night. It will be the first time Chicagoans can legally wager on a Chicago sports team in the Chicagoland area in the history of the city.
There are 13 commercial casinos in the Hoosier State, made up of land-based casinos, racinos, and riverboat casinos. A report from the Indianapolis Star says that 12 of the properties are likely to open a sportsbook this month.
The law states that Indiana casinos can offer wagering on 19 different sports, including the four major leagues, as well and bowling and darts. Indiana brought in a total of $2.24 billion in gaming revenue in 2018, with virtually no growth or decline in the last five years. The addition of sports betting should pave the way for bigger numbers in 2019, as well as an increase in the $599.6 million in taxes the state collected last year.
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