Casino operators across Indiana can breathe a collective sigh of relief.
A recent study from Spectrum Gaming Group indicated that bringing online casinos to Indiana will likely have no adverse effect on (“cannibalize”) the revenue of the state’s 11 land- and river-based casinos.
The move comes as regulators and legislators mull the legalization of Indiana online casinos . The report says: “Based on the evidence from the states where iGaming has been introduced, there is little, if any, cannibalization of revenue from established casinos. This is particularly true in states where in-person gaming options are easily accessible to most of the population, such as in Delaware and West Virginia. Based on the results in other iGaming states, Spectrum believes implementing iGaming in Indiana will have little impact on retail casino gaming revenues in the state.” The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) hired Spectrum to do the study. The study is a part of IGC’s research into how online gambling would affect the state’s casinos. Indiana online casinos likely won’t cut into land-based casino revenue
Spectrum took a look at how online casino rollouts affected casino gross gaming revenue in five states. The study found that, with one major exception, online casinos had a net positive effect on casino revenue. Delaware : 6.7% gross gaming revenue growth
West Virginia : 1.1%
Pennsylvania : -1.7%
New Jersey : -5.6%
Michigan : -12.9%
Michigan is the exception. Its numbers reflect revenue from statewide online gambling but casino revenue only from commercial casinos in Detroit.Michigan aside, the net effect on revenue in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware was +0.05% . It’s not much, but it does indicate the likelihood that land-based casinos won’t suffer from an online gambling market. Indiana could also benefit from live-dealer online gambling. Spectrum believed that launching live-dealer games like poker could help the state’s job market. As long as the studios used for the games are located in Indiana. The report continues: “Based on results in other states, live-dealer iGaming in Indiana could create many hundreds of jobs through the employment of dealers in purpose-built studios for this segment […]
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