Indiana’s Renewed Push for iGaming Legalization

In a significant bid to reenergize Indiana’s online gambling legislation, Indiana State Rep. Ethan Manning submitted House Bill 1432 last week. He argues the bill will regulate legalized online poker, casino-style games, and virtual lotteries under the Indiana Gaming Commission in 2025.

This is, of course, not Manning’s – a vocal advocate of an online gambling expansion in the Hoosier State – first attempt at legalizing Indiana’s iGaming sector, having backed or sponsored previous efforts before.

The most recent of these was a previous 2023 bill, which was ensnared in the high-profile corruption scandal involving former legislator Sean Eberhart. The debacle at the time not only seemingly harpooned the bill’s progress through the Indiana General Assembly, but it also resulted in a year-long legislative cooling-off period over the course of 2024.

However, Manning is confident of the bill’s appeal to initiate legalizing Indiana’s iGaming industry, representing a more comprehensive regulatory framework under which interactive gaming operators in the state can operate.

Should he succeed, it would then enable eligible venues, such as licensed riverboat casinos, racetracks, and state-wide gaming permit holders, the chance to offer casino games, including poker, blackjack, roulette, and slots.

Another notable feature of the bill proposes adjusting gross gaming receipts, allowing for iGaming revenues to be taxed at between 22% and 30%. These amended revenues would then be allocated to funding local government services, as well as propositioning resources to help establish the Indiana Responsible Gaming and Problem Gambling Services Program.

Surprisingly, despite Indiana being one of the first states to legalize sports betting – having done so in 2019 – Manning’s iGaming bill still faces strong opposition from some quarters.

In a bid to overturn these objections, Manning hopes the considerable revenues Indiana generated from legalized sportsbook betting could help sway opinion in favor of the bill.

Given that sports betting takings in the state tallied over $404.4 million in 2023, and with 2024 projections set to surpass this figure, he argues that iGaming symbolizes a sizable untapped tax revenue stream.

A claim supported by a recently updated study conducted by the Spectrum Group reported that legalized iGaming could create an additional revenue stream of upwards of $2.1 billion within the first three years, which in turn would generate over $929 million in taxable income in the same period.

Nevertheless, challenges to the bill remain.

Not only in relation to the regulatory hurdles it faces, but critics of the bill also express concerns that iGaming’s potential earnings would undoubtedly cannibalize existing sports gaming revenues within the state.

Countering these claims, advocates point to neighboring Michigan, which has flourished since regulating iGaming in 2021. Similarly, Pennsylvania – another state that offers dual forms of gambling – managed to record a staggering $5.86 billion in total wagering revenue for 2023.

It’s fair to say that only time will tell if Mannings Indiana’s House Bill 1432 will ultimately be successful.

Undoubtedly, lessons will have been learned from its previous legislation setbacks, however, the overwhelming economic benefits of legalizing iGaming in Indiana will, in all likelihood, be an irresistible incentive for the state to approve the bill at some point in 2025.