Indiana Considering Slot Machines at Tracks

The legislature of Indiana is considering legalizing slot machines at the state’s racetracks – but the casinos are not overly concerned about how it might affect them. Casino Aztar was asked if they thought adding up to 2,500 slot machines at the state’s horse tracks and they said they were not worried.

They believe that they service a different kind of clientele then the racetracks, and they don’t think that it will have an impact on them. The bill to legalize the slot machines has just passed the House, so there is a good chance that this will happen this year. The horse tracks have been complaining for years that they cannot compete with the casinos, and that their revenues are falling drastically.

The two tracks – Indiana Downs and Hoosier Park – claim that if they are allowed slot machines they will be able to increase their purses and their attendance at the tracks. They asked the House to pass the bill, which they have done – and now it goes to Ways and Means to see if it will pass there.

The state would be looking at somewhere in the area of $90 to $160 million a year if the tracks are allowed slot machines. They would be limited to the tracks though, and would not be allowed at the off-track betting parlors. At this time slot machines are only permitted in the state’s casinos, and there are eleven of them.

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