Introduction to Indiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2021
Indiana slot machine casino gambling consists of fourteen commercial casinos, two of which are proposed casinos, as well as one tribal casino.
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I’ve dedicated this weekly series to slot enthusiasts such as yourself as you master casino slots and win your way to success by using this State-By-State Online Resource to improve your slots gambling performance by reviewing your state’s slots gaming industry.
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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Indiana
The minimum legal gambling age in Indiana depends upon the gambling activity:
- Land-Based Casinos: 21
- Poker Rooms: 21
- Bingo: 21
- Lottery: 18
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18
Indiana’s 1851 constitution banned lotteries, historically interpreted by courts to mean all gambling. In 1988, Indiana approved a constitutional amendment removing this ban. Within months, cities with economic difficulties had casino proposals including ten riverboat casinos.
In 2007, Indiana allowed horse tracks to have as many as 2,000 electronic gaming machines. Further, the state legislature approved land-based casinos in 2015 and allowed riverboat casinos to move into a land-based casino facility if located on their current property.
The state of Indiana has a federally recognized American Indian tribe. In 2015, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians successfully negotiated a tribal-state compact subsequently approved by the U.S. Department of Interior.
By the compact’s terms, the tribal casino could only have Class II bingo-style gaming machines. In 2018, the tribe opened a casino in South Bend.
Slot Machine Private Ownership in Indiana
It is legal to own a slot machine privately in Indiana if it is 40 years old or older.
Gaming Control Board in Indiana
The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) regulates gaming in Indiana.
The IGC has its Gaming Control Division as a law enforcement arm with a primary role to investigate illegal gambling. Enforcement of illegal gambling at bars and taverns is by the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission.
Indiana’s two other gaming commissions regulate the Hoosier Lottery and Indiana Horse Racing.
Casinos in Indiana
Indiana has fourteen commercial casinos including two proposed casinos and one American Indian tribal casino.
The largest casino in Indiana is Horseshoe Hammond with 3,002 gaming machines.
The second-largest casino is Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg with 2,534 gaming machines.
Commercial Casinos in Indiana
Indiana’s fourteen commercial casinos, including two proposed casinos in Terra Haute and Gary, are:
- Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago, 11 miles northwest of Gary.
- Belterra Casino Resort in Florence, 116 miles southeast of Indianapolis on the Kentucky border.
- Blue Chip Casino Hotel Spa in Michigan City, 26 miles northeast of Gary.
- Caesars Southern Indiana in Elizabeth, 123 miles south of Indianapolis across the river from Louisville, Kentucky.
- French Lick Resort, 100 miles south of Indianapolis.
- Hard Rock Northern Indiana in Gary – proposed casino with Spring 2021 planned opening.
- Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson, 43 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
- Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, 98 miles southeast of Indianapolis on the Ohio border.
- Horseshoe Hammond, 20 miles northwest of Gary.
- Indiana Grand Racing Casino in Shelbyville, 27 miles southeast of Indianapolis.
- Majestic Star Casinos I & II in Gary.
- Rising Star Casino Resort, 105 miles southeast of Indianapolis on the Kentucky border.
- Rocksino at Terre Haute – proposed casino with 2022 planned opening.
- Tropicana Evansville, 169 miles southwest of Indianapolis.
Tribal Casinos in Indiana
Indiana’s tribal casino is Four Winds Casino South Bend, 150 miles north of Indianapolis directly east of Chicago on the border to Michigan. It offers 1,800 Class II competition-style gaming machines alongside live poker tables.
Unique to Indiana, the table game of poker is a skill-based game and, therefore, just another Class II game as players bet against each other and aren’t betting “against the house” or casino.
Other Gambling Establishments
As an alternative to enjoying Indiana slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Indiana is:
- North: Michigan Slots
- East: Ohio Slots
- South: Kentucky Slots
- West: Illinois Slots
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Indiana.
Our Indiana Slots Facebook Community
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Indiana? If so, join our Indiana slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to freely join this closed Facebook Group community.
There, you can meet online and privately share your slots experiences with local slots enthusiasts about playing slot machines in Indiana. Join us!
Payouts and Returns in Indiana
Indiana has no theoretical payout limits. However, monthly and annual return statistics are publicly available for commercial casinos.
Neither theoretical payout nor return statistics are available for Indiana’s tribal casino.
The IGC offers comprehensive annual reports on all aspects of legal gaming in Indiana.
The casino hold percent for each commercial casino is WIN divided by COIN IN. Subtraction from 100% gives the player win percent. Calculate annual win% from p. 43 of the FY 2020 Annual Report. Beginning in 2020, this annual report no longer offers annual win% by slot machine denomination.
Monthly win% is from p. 6 of the pdf, or worksheet Sheet6 of the MS Excel spreadsheet, from Monthly Revenue Reports.
The monthly player win percent for Indiana’s casinos in December 2020 are:
- Ameristar East Chicago: 90.6%
- Belterra: 90.4%
- Blue Chip: 90.6%
- Caesars Southern Indiana: 89.6%
- French Lick: 90.9%
- Harrah’s Hoosier Park: 90.2%
- Hollywood Lawrenceburg: 91.4%
- Horseshoe Hammond: 90.3%
- Indiana Grand Racing: 89.6%
- Majestic Star I: 90.2%
- Majestic Star II: 89.9%
- Rising Star: 89.4%
- Tropicana Evansville: 90.0%
The casino with the highest return in December 2020 went to Hollywood Lawrenceburg followed by French Lick. The casino with the lowest return was Rising Star followed by a tie
Summary of Indiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2021
Indiana slot machine casino gambling consists of fourteen commercial casinos, including two proposed commercial casinos, and a tribal casino with Class II bingo-style gaming machines.
Annual Progress in Indiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling
In December 2019, Caesars Southern Indiana moved into its new facility in Harrison county. Further, the cities of Gary and Terra Haute each have a proposed casino.
Related Posts from Professor Slots
Other States from Professor Slots
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Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
The first pit stop in Las Vegas for most visitors is usually a casino. Whether you are an experienced player on the casino floor or just starting, slot machines are the most profitable and entertaining games available.
Slot machines have proven to be popular among players time and time again. Casinos and other entertainment facilities are profiting tremendously from the revenues collected from slots.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reports that the Las Vegas Strip contained over 160,000 slot machines in 40 different locations in 2019, generating revenues reaching almost $270 million per month.
While these numbers are beneficial to the establishments and their operators, slot machines are also known to be the most profitable game in a casino for the user.
Slot machines, on average, have an RTP, or return to player, between 75% and 98%; in other words, for every dollar a player spends, the slot machine will yield about 75 to 98 cents right into their pocket.
Even with the high RTP and revenue, Las Vegas and other cities famous for their casinos fill their halls with slot machines because anyone can press a button.
Commitment is never a priority; the player can put down a small individual bet. A poker face is never required, neither is real skill, to win big.
However, research is still encouraged to profit off of slot machines at the highest level, such as reading on user experience on specific games and reading the RTP at each Las Vegas casino.
Return to player is perhaps the most critical factor in picking the best slot to play in Vegas. The higher the RTP percentage, the more likely the slot will payout.
An amateur way to discover a slot’s RTP percentage is to test it with a bet. If a slot claims to have a 94% payout, then after a $100 bet, the payback would equate to about $94. While this may seem straightforward, this method does not fit every player.
Checking message boards and online threads, as well as comparison sites containing slots reviews, are a great way to find the best slots in Vegas. Notable websites encourage players to share their experiences with slot machines; most of their reviews focus on the amount of cash they get to keep after playing.
Another tip to finding one of the better slots offered in Las Vegas is to look for promotions. By signing up to the casino’s player’s club, customers can access unique games, receive free slot plays, and gain eligibility to have freebies on their next visit.
Benefits are significant, especially when the rounds on the slot machines are free, increasing the already high payout.
The most profitable slots are coined as “loose slots” because they pay out the most amount of money to the player and are thus very desirable among customers.
A feature of profitable slot machines called “progressive jackpots” has become a popular way to transform a couple of hundred bucks to millions.
Progressive jackpots offer prize money compared to the national lottery games, which can easily make a millionaire in a single evening.
According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the dollar slots pay back an average of 95% of receipts, 25 cent slots payout 93% on average, and 5 cent slots give back 90% to the players.
The payout from slots at the downtown or other off-Strip locations is one or two percent higher than those on the Strip. Hotel-casinos frequented by locals, such as Sam’s Town, pay better than the tourist hotels in the city. Nevada residents well know that fact when they consider which facilities contain the best slots in Vegas.
Moreover, the newer and more luxurious hotels are known for having the overall poorest RTP percentages.
Some of those hotels include the Bellagio, Venetian, Mandalay Bay, and the new Wynn Las Vegas. Since the amenities of these hotels are off the charts, slot machines do not have to be the most profitable asset (at least to the player).
However, some of these lavish hotels offer great prizes and entertainment that makes a higher payout from the slot machine. The Bellagio, for example, provides a slot tournament with 2,300 games as options. From jackpots and progressive features, the Bellagio slot machines can grow small bets into millions.
Generally, the best slots in Vegas are located in the older properties of the North Strip.
Slot machines may look flashy and modern, especially themed slots, but that does not mean they have the highest payout. The more traditional and old-looking games may be a better money’s worth.
Much like the endorphin rush of a “win,” a good-looking slot machine can trick the brain chemistry into wagering more money than intended. With that in mind, a simple-looking slot should be considered to help players gamble responsibly and win big.
Rather than always playing Star Wars or Avengers slot machines, players should have an eye out for the more dated and less appealing slot machines available on the casino floor. Many of them have substantial RTP rates and have stood the test of time.
One of these seemingly unappreciated slots is housed in Slots-a-Fun at Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas. The selection includes classics, such as “Double Diamond” and “Red, White, and Blue.” Although they are not the flashiest, they are the best slots in Vegas.
Best Casino For Slots Vegas
Slots-a-Fun is a classic and exclusive casino that incorporates slot machines paired with an arcade, pool tables, bowling, and other forms of entertainment. Their slots have been proven time and time again as the machines to make the next big Vegas winner.
As mentioned before, these slots are not located conveniently for the tourists on the Strip. A general rule of thumb to follow: the more touristy the casino, the lower the payback on the slot machines.
While the Las Vegas Strip has a win percentage of about 8%, the slots in Reno and Boulder have a more generous casino wins of around 5%.
Some of the casinos located in Reno, Boulder, and North Vegas include Eastside Cannery, Sunset Station, M Resort, Jerry’s Nugget, Texas Station, and Boulder Station.
Geographical location should not be the only consideration when looking for great slots. Some veteran gamblers and websites claim that corners within a specific casino itself have some of the better slot machines.
High traffic areas, such as near elevators, a front desk, aisles, showrooms, registration areas, etc., contain the loosest slots in the casino.
Some people do not even have to go to a casino to access a slot machine. An entertainment facility is perhaps the unrivaled source to use for the best slots in Vegas.
Airports, convenience stores, and grocery stores are the first locations to avoid playing slot machines. Even though the majority are in clean and well-run establishments, they do not offer significant returns with their slot machines.
What these three different places have in common is that under Nevada law the slot machines in airports, convenience stores, and grocery stores are entirely controlled by large corporations.
With that in mind, it should not be surprising that the slot machines in these facilities provide a much lower payout percentage than the typical slot found in a Las Vegas casino.
Even though convenience store owners can obtain a lease or purchase of slot machines, the Nevada law changed in favor of larger corporations having control over the slots and their payouts.
Nevada grocery stores are the only place that can legally provide slot machines because they have leased the space through a larger company. Although they can offer marginally better odds than the former two, grocery stores should still be avoided when it comes to slot machines.
The loosest slot machines in the past 12 months have been Megabucks and penny slots. Megabucks had the tightest slots at over 11% casino win percentage. Penny slots are the most popular denomination, even though their win percentage is not the most generous.
Megabucks offers some of the best slots in Vegas with the highest winnings. In 2014, a man playing a Megabucks slot machine in Rampart Casino hit a $14 million jackpot after playing for five minutes on a $20 bill when the slot paid off.
This payout is not the only one from a Megabucks machine. Megabucks has produced life-changing jackpots for multiple players for over two decades.
Best Casino Slots And Games
Their slogan markets the casino’s accomplishments perfectly: “Dream big. Win big”. Even with players only spending a $1 for a spin, there is always a chance of the jackpot prize of $10 million.
In addition to Megabucks and Slots-a-Fun, there are plenty of casinos offering some of the best slots available in Las Vegas.
Many websites report O’Shea’s, Stardust, and older casinos located on the north side of the Strip as the places to visit for great and profitable slot machine winnings.
The casino nearest to offering the loosest slots in Las Vegas is Palms resort, which has an average game payout percentage of about 94%.
Lower payout slot machines also have distinct locations on the casino floor. Some of those include the leading slot machine on the floor, those near the table games, and close to the poker room. Since all of these areas have too much action, either from different games or other slots, the RTP does not have to be too high.
Furthermore, it is better to be aware of which specific slot machines should be avoided. The reason behind it is the exact opposite as to why the already mentioned slots are the best: the worst slots have a low percentage of payback.
Several slots have unfortunately been added to the universal list of worst slots found in Las Vegas, such as Wish Upon a Jackpot by Blueprint Gaming, Adventures in Wonderland by Ash Gaming, and King Kong by Cryptologic due to their low RTP.
Different software companies specializing in slot machines have reputations that reflect off of the RTP’s. While some developments have been mentioned before for their low percentage payback, others are renowned for their slots having high RTP rates.
Playtech is one of the more famous software companies that develop successful and popular slot machines located in Las Vegas casinos. Games created by this company include: Goblin’s Cave, Ugga Bugga, and Ocean Princess. All offer reputable and above-average percentage payouts.
Other software companies known for distributing slots with high paybacks are Barcrest, WMS, and NetEnt.
In addition to Palms Casino and Resort, there are other casinos in Las Vegas that have multiple slots maintaining an above-average payout.
Fitzgerald’s Casino and Hotel has established a favorable reputation for offering the loosest slots in downtown Las Vegas. Ranked regularly, the machines in Fitzgerald’s that are given the best paybacks include reel, penny, and progressive slots.
Slot machines are incredibly entertaining, easy, and a great reason to visit a Las Vegas casino.
Although research is essential, in-depth research is not necessary unless you are wagering a significant amount of money. Specific slot machines should be sought out to cash in millions, which has been proven to be possible within five minutes of playing.
The different themes, bonuses, promotions, and prizes, prevent slot machines from ever becoming boring. For some lucky few, a slot will transform a single $5 bill to $5 million or more than that colossal amount.
With the press of a button, a slot machine can make an average player into a millionaire, or give the customer an affordable and responsible amount of fun on the Las Vegas casino floor.
With some of these tips that differentiate the better slots in Las Vegas, slot machines can become more of a calculated game than intended.
Overall, Vegas is the numero uno destination to play slots in the United States. The key is to be wise and risk only as much as you can afford to lose.
It is essential to ask around and try some old slots that have a proven track record of wins. Don’t just be impressed with design and wager money in the excitement!