Other Indiana online gambling options include sports betting, pari-mutuel horse racing wagering, and daily fantasy sports. Read more about those options here:

• Indiana Online Sportsbooks
• Indiana Online Racebooks
• Indiana Fantasy Sports

Sweepstakes Casinos in Indiana

Multiple social casinos in Indiana offer slot-style and table-style games. The most prominent Indiana sweepstakes casinos include:

• WOW Vegas
• Stake.us
• Pulsz Casino
• Chumba Casino

Sweepstakes gambling sites, also known as social casinos, operate in a legal gray area but comply with all state and federal laws.

However, Indiana gambling sites that use the sweepstakes business model face legal risks that could cause them to exit the market.

Regulators in a handful of states believe social casinos violate the “spirit” of local gambling laws and have ordered them to cease operations. Indiana social casinos have not received such orders, but that can always change.

Will Indiana Legalize Online Gambling?

Indiana does not regulate online casinos and poker sites.

The Hoosier State is one of just a few states that explicitly outlaws participating in online gambling, except for some sweepstakes casinos, online sports betting, and horse racing wagering.

states that “a person who knowingly or intentionally engages in gambling commits unlawful gambling” commits an offense classified as a Class B misdemeanor. Additionally, an operator who offers online gambling in Indiana commits a Level 6 felony.

However, lawmakers have expressed an interest in legalizing online gambling in Indiana, and the state has a developed infrastructure that would make it relatively simple to “flip the switch” and authorize online casino apps.

Indiana Regulators Have Experience

Indiana already has experience regulating online sports betting and adopting regulations related to geolocation requirements, age and identity verification, consumer safety, and responsible gambling.

Now that regulators are acquainted with vetting mobile betting companies for licenses, overseeing internet security standards, and ensuring effective geofencing, the prospect of legalizing online gambling in Indiana is less daunting from a technical standpoint.

In short, lawmakers and regulators are already comfortable with the concept of online gambling delivery channels and their workings.

Existing Laws Would Simplify Legalization

Under existing sports betting laws, Indiana’s land-based casinos already serve as licensing partners for online sportsbooks. Some minor tweaks are all it would take to modify the law to cover online casinos in Indiana.

Some sportsbook operators have already expanded their sports betting partnerships with land-based casinos to include online gambling in anticipation of Indiana passing a bill to legalize online casinos.

Leveraging these advantages to regulate online casinos in Indiana would be trivial. Realistically, the first Indiana online casinos could launch within months of lawmakers passing the enabling legislation.

Potential Benefits of Indiana Online Casinos

Indiana online casinos can help the Hoosier State on multiple economic fronts.

First, upfront licensing fees would immediately provide cash to the state’s coffers, followed by a steady stream of revenue in the form of gaming taxes (more on that below).

Second, it would provide existing gaming operators with a new, additive revenue channel.

Indiana has a robust retail casino industry dating back to 1993, but the market hasn’t been immune to the pinch from competition in neighboring states.

 peaked in 2009 at $2.8 billion, but by 2015, revenue fell to $2.2 billion and has remained there ever since.

The Indiana gambling market could still return to its $3 billion past. All it has to do is legalize something Indiana residents can already do: play casino games online.

Legalizing online casinos in Indiana can help future-proof the state’s retail casinos with a proven product that brings in new, younger customers .

Third, online casinos are synergistic with online sports betting. New Jersey offers a great example of how the sum of sports betting and online casinos is greater than the parts. The state’s online casino industry surged after it launched legal online sports betting.

And finally, legal, state-regulated online gambling provides consumer protections, responsible gaming safeguards, and a much-needed alternative to offshore gambling sites. It’s absurd to provide sports bettors with a legal alternative while leaving casino players at the mercy of offshore providers.

Revenue Potential of Legal Online Gambling in Indiana

The research firm  once estimated that Indiana’s online casino opportunity would be worth $358 million annually when fully matured.

The amount of gambling revenue flowing into state coffers depends on how aggressively the legislature taxes the industry and what type of upfront licensing fees are imposed.

For comparison, sports betting licenses in Indiana cost $100,000 and have a 9.5% tax rate. However, that rate was determined in 2019 and is unlikely to be replicated in an online casino bill.

An Indiana online casino bill mirroring sports betting wouldn’t be much of an opportunity, netting the state about $1.3 million upfront and annual tax revenue of about $35 million.

Further, revenue will take a while to start rolling in unless the state imposes hefty upfront licensing fees, as was the case in Pennsylvania, which charged operators $10 million for online gambling licenses.

Unlike Indiana’s sports betting industry, Indiana’s online casinos will not launch a month after a law is passed.

New Jersey’s online casino industry still holds the record, as it managed to go from legalization to launch in just nine months. Every other state has taken far longer, and even 12 months is seen as an accelerated timeline.

That dynamic will likely skew Indiana towards a higher initial licensing fee and a low-to-moderate tax rate. 

Option 1: High Licensing Fee and Moderate Tax Rate

If each of Indiana’s 13 casino operators applied for a $5 million online casino license, the state would see a quick influx of $65 million.

However, that licensing burden would only be feasible if accompanied by a moderate tax rate, no more than 20%, resulting in roughly $70 million annually to the state.

Option 2: High Licensing Fee That Goes Towards Future Taxes

Another option is an even heftier licensing fee, perhaps $10 million, with the stipulation that the payment would go towards future taxes owed.

That would cause a further delay in ongoing tax collection but would provide more money in advance. Further, the state could impose a higher tax rate, perhaps instituting a tiered structure like its land-based casino industry.

That model would provide the state with a quick influx of $130 million but little money during the first two years (12 months to set up and another 12 months of pre-paid taxes).

However, at maturity, the state could collect upwards of $100 million annually if the typical tax rate is around 30%.

The state could also opt to cap the amount of money Indiana online casinos could use towards future taxes at $5 million and adjust the tax rate accordingly.

Can Indiana Replicate its Sports Betting Success?

When operators discuss online gambling opportunities in the US, they often point to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. However, opportunities can quickly disappear due to legislative inaction, and ultimately, they are only as good as the structure of the market.  

Indiana is an excellent example of a state that saw an opportunity and ran with it. Indiana is a seemingly innocuous state that has turned into a sports betting success story, as it competes with other states in terms of betting handle per resident.

Here’s how Indiana pulled it off.

Indiana Gambling Market Advantages

The Indiana gambling market has several built-in advantages:

1. An in-state population of 6.7 million (ranked 17^th in the US)
2. Access to out-of-state population bases (the border cities of Chicago, Cincinnati, and Louisville have a combined population of 3.6 million)
3. Strong in-state and out-of-state sports fanbases
4. A thriving, multi-faceted gaming industry

Further, unlike other states, the legislature hasn’t saddled the industry with unnecessary restrictions.

As such, Indiana:

• Is an open, competitive market with reasonable operator burdens (licensing and taxation)
• Offers retail and online betting with minimal restrictions
• Uses a nimble regulatory approach that allows regulators to approve a wide range of betting options.

The combination of these elements has allowed Indiana to punch well above its weight. Expect similar results if lawmakers take a similar approach to legalizing online casinos in Indiana.

Past Efforts to Legalize Online Gambling in Indiana

A bill () introduced by State Sen. Jon Ford in early 2021 would have allowed land-based casinos to offer online gambling and poker, but it didn’t advance beyond a first reading.

In 2023, Rep. Ethan Manning introduced to legalize online casinos and poker sites and authorize the Hoosier Lottery to take its games online.

That bill also failed early in the legislative process, but proponents seem intent on eventually legalizing online gambling in Indiana.

Things looked positive for pro-online gambling lawmakers heading into 2024, but a spate of gambling-related scandals in 2024 and dampened the state’s chances of legalization over subsequent years.

Indiana Online Casino FAQ