Indiana Online Casino, Online Lottery Bill Is Dead For The Year

Legislation in Indiana to legalize both online casino and online lottery is apparently over for 2025.

Despite House Bill 1432 easily making its way through the House Public Policy Committee, the bill never got a hearing in the Ways and Means Committee, according to a report in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

House Speaker Todd Huston said the bill was complex and had a “lot of different moving parts,” per the Chronicle.

“And I think, you know, just trying to find something there was some consensus on, felt like it was a pretty tough spot to be,” he said.

If the legislation had passed, it would have opened the door for Indiana’s licensed casinos to offer iCasino and the Hoosier Lottery to expand its offerings online.

Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport, was the author of the bill and figured that between iCasino and iLottery, the state would have netted over $300 million in new tax revenue.

Not that close

Huston, while laudatory to Manning for bringing the bill forward, said different members of the state’s gambling community had different reasons to be for or against the bill, with at least one casino balking at the idea. Among the concerns, for both existing brick and mortar casinos and retail lottery sellers, were fears that online casino play and lottery sales would erode dollars spent at the physical shops.

“There’s all sorts of moving parts about how it impacts certain communities, what it does to the overall gaming environment in Indiana. I think all those things just make it complex to work through,” Huston told the Chronicle.

The bill would have also created a new responsible and problem gambling program, with the casinos footing the bill. The programs would have funded treatment and research, whereas the majority of problem gambling resources in Indiana go towards awareness campaigns, according to the Chronicle.

The Hoosier Lottery, which is classified as a quasi-public organization, was behind the bill, hoping Indiana would join the 14 other states that have legalized online lottery.

Indiana has long been considered a prime candidate for iGaming legalization, particularly given its proximity to Michigan, where online casino operations have generated substantial tax revenue since launching in 2021. Michigan collected more than $450 million in tax receipts from internet casino operators last year alone.

The Ways and Means Committee was set to consider amendments to Manning’s bill, including a significant increase in the mobile sports betting tax rate from 9.5% to 20% on adjusted gross revenue. Based on the $471.5 million AGR reported by online operators in 2024, this change would have generated an additional $49.5 million in tax receipts for the state.