Hard Rock Casino Dominates Northern Indiana Gaming Scene Again

Hard Rock Casino Continues to Dominate Indiana Gaming Market in July

Data released by the Indiana Gaming Commission Wednesday show Hard Rock tallied $36.7 million in win last month — a 1.6% decrease compared to its July 2025 win of $37.3 million.

Nevertheless, the Gary gaming, dining and entertainment destination still single-handedly accounted for more than 17% of the state's $214.3 million in total casino win for the seventh month of 2026, a 2.6% growth in statewide win compared to $208.9 million for July 2025.

IGC data show Hard Rock’s state-leading slot machine play continues to dominate, totaling $281.5 million in July, with a state-best win of $28.2 million; compared to July 2025 slot win of $26.3 million on $270.7 million in play.

The Steel City casino also led the state for July table game play, primarily baccarat, with $41.1 million, and was tops in table win at $8.5 million.

Elsewhere in the Region, the state’s onetime earnings leader, Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, last month ranked fifth behind its Horseshoe Indianapolis, Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Caesars Southern Indiana sister properties with $18.3 million in win — down 3.6% from its July 2025 win of $19 million.

On the other hand, monthly win at Ameristar Casino in East Chicago grew by 3% to $13.1 million in July compared with $12.7 million for the same month in the prior year.

Meanwhile, win at Blue Chip Casino, in Michigan City, remained steady at $11.5 million relative to last July by increasing just 0.07%, according to the IGC.

Just across the state line, Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino in East Hazel Crest, Illinois, saw its adjusted gross receipts rise 5.3% to $19.7 million in July compared to $18.8 million a year prior, with both the second-highest attendance and earnings of Illinois' 17 casinos in its 20th full month of operations.

Indiana Sports Wagering Sees Major Jump in July with $384.2M Handle

Data show Indiana's online and retail sports wagering handle was $384.2 million last month, compared with $284.9 million in July 2025. The all-time monthly record for sports bets in Indiana is $641 million, set in November 2025.

In total, Indiana in July collected $30.2 million in tax revenue from slot machine and table game play, and $3.8 million from settled sports wagers, according to the IGC.