Representative Manning introduced House Bill 1432 on January 15, 2025. The bill is a proposal to legalize online casinos in Indiana online casinos. The bill will be read for the first time on January 21, 2025. Once the bill has been read, it will then move on to the Committee on Public Policy for a review.
What the online casino bill in Indiana proposes
- To legalize online casinos: If ed, the bill will allow licensed riverboats and racetrack casinos to offer online casino games.
- Extra tax income: Online casino profits would be taxed at rates ranging from 22% to 30%, depending on the casinos earnings. This will tax smaller operators fairly in comparison to their larger competitors. The gambling tax rate sits in the fairly average to high-zone compared to other states – which means a decent amount of revenue will be collected whilst trying to keep the market fair and competitive.
- To help the community: A percentage of the tax revenue would contribute towards public benefits such as community programs, schools, public safety, infrastructure and more.
- Player protections: The bill would also create a safer gambling program to help those struggling with addiction. The program would include: treatments, public awareness campaigns, and self-exclusion lists to help players to stay in control.
- Strict regulation: Casinos will be required to have a licence to operate legally and must follow particular protocols and guidelines to ensure gaming is fair and secure. Further, there would also be strong systems in place to protect players’ data.
Why an online casino bill matters for Indiana
If Indiana legalizes real money online casinos it could potentially bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue, every year, into the state. With that tax revenue, many social benefits can occur such as increasing funding into education, public safety and infrastructure, as well as other important services and programs.
Keeping players safe
The House Bill 1432 includes a variety of player protections such as: spend and deposit limits, self-exclusion and strict guidelines regarding ments to avoid misleading promotions.
Will House Bill 1432 ?
With a new Governor in office, who needs to fill a Medicaid budget gap, the state is likely looking for a new income stream and online casinos could well be the way to do it. However, smaller casinos may oppose legalization as regulating online casinos would potentially take revenue away from them due to people looking to gamble online instead of in a land-based casino.
While our experts are not certain that the bill will in 2025, they would not be suprised if it gets out of the House.
What’s next for House Bill 1432?
If the bill gets ed, online casinos in Indiana could launch as early as September 2025. This would bring new opportunities for residents to enjoy casino games legally, safely and from the comfort of their homes.
Indiana online casino situation right now
Despite not having legalized online casinos – yet – Indiana has a thriving gambling industry consisting over riverboat and racetrack casinos as well as sports betting.
However, due to online casinos not yet being legal, residents are looking for alternatives; which often means they will use unregulated and unlicensed casinos to gamble instead.
Meanwhile, online sweepstakes casino sites have become popular in the state. These casinos are considered a ‘gray area’ due to the fact you don’t have to use real money to play, but you can win real money.
Sweepstake casinos allow players to purchase virtual coins or credits and can potentially win cash prizes, but you can also earn coins and credits for free. While they are not technically classified as traditional gambling, their presence highlights the demand for online casino gaming in Indiana.
This unregulated ‘gray’ market poses challenges, including a lack of player protections and regulation. Legalizing online casinos under House Bill 1432 would address these issues by creating a secure, regulated environment where players can enjoy games safely while benefitting of the tax revenue generated for the state.
