Casino tax revenue ‘a godsend’ to Orange County towns
Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
FRENCH LICK – July marked the first month of the fiscal year for the state’s casinos. A big jump in the gaming tax paid by the French Lick Casino to start the fiscal year is good news for the taxing units that receive a share of that revenue. The total tax paid in July 2023 showed a 281% increase from July 2022.
According to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s summary for July, the French Lick Casino paid a total tax of $705,045, an increase of $520,231 from July 2022 when the gaming taxes for the month were $184,814.
The July 2023 total reflects $66,500 in sports wagering tax and $638,544 in wagering tax.
The casino’s taxable adjusted gross revenue was $7,094,938, an increase of $265,782 from July 2022 when the taxable AGR was $6,829,156. July’s AGR was also higher than the previous month when the AGR for June was $6,500,325.
For the towns that receive a portion of casino revenue, the increase means they can budget for future improvements.
“When the tax draw was down, we became very conservative with the budget,” said Cathy Carnes, West Baden Springs clerk-treasurer. “We have held back on some projects and applied for more grants.”
Since the renovated hotel and casino opened in 2006, the town of West Baden Springs has replaced nearly its entire infrastructure.
“It’s unbelievable that a small town can redo the entire town,” Carnes said. “It’s all because of the revenue generated by the casino.”
New curbs, streets and sidewalks have been made possible with casino revenue and Community Crossing grants from INDOT. Most grants require a match from the applicant. Because of the casino tax revenue, Carnes said West Baden Springs is able to provide the match.
With the casino revenue surging to pre-pandemic levels, Carnes said the town will turn its focus back to projects that were on hold. She said sections of a street needing repairs behind the JayC store and improvements to the park will get the town’s attention.
“We are so fortunate and blessed to have what we have in our community,” she said. “The casino has been a godsend.”
Sports wagering
The French Lick Casino sports wagering handle in July was $6,407,876 and the taxable AGR was $700,005. The tax paid on those wagers was $66,500.
The handle for July is down from a year ago when the sports wagering handle at the casino was $7,284,444, however the taxable AGR was $507,697 in July 2022 and the tax paid was $48,231.
Across the state, more wagers were placed on baseball than any other sport, coming in at $69,425,254. The total handle for the month, all casinos in Indiana, was $203,462,106.
State tallies
Looking at the revenue generated at the state’s other casinos, the taxable AGR for all casinos was $192,688,882 and the taxes paid by all casinos for the month was $31,596,606.