SEI Riverboat Casino Revenues Slide In '19 First Half

Ohio River flooding forced two local riverboats to close for multiple days in February.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Southeastern Indiana casino revenues are down in the first half of 2019.

Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg led the region’s three riverboats with $84.5 million in gaming revenue, down about 2.0 percent from the first half of 2018, according to revenue reports to the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Two of the riverboats took larger revenue hits in February as they were forced to close for a week or more due to flooding of the Ohio River. In Switzerland County, Belterra Casino Resort’s first half revenue was down by 5.7 percent to $51.4 million. Rising Sun’s Rising Star Casino reported $20.5 million in revenue, off by about 7.0 percent.

Combined, the three riverboats' revenue totaling $156.5 million in the first half is down by 3.9 percent.

Statewide, Indiana’s 13 casinos raked in $1.08 billion in revenue through the first six months of 2019. That is down about 2.4 percent from $1.11 billion in the first half of 2018.

Starting as soon as September 1, Indiana casinos will be able to offer sports betting thanks to a law passed in May. The Indiana Gaming Commission is expected to vote on August 28 to establish proposed regulations for sports wagering on professional and college baseball, football, basketball, soccer and hockey, as well as boxing, mixed martial arts, auto racing, and more.

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