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Indiana’s 13th brick-and-mortar casino will soon transition from part of the state’s future gambling landscape to its present. Today, Friday, April 5, 2024, the casino will hold grand opening ceremonies.
Gaming options at the property will include everything standard for a full-service casino in Indiana. The casino’s opening means if Indiana ever does legalize online casino play, the operator of Terre Haute Casino Resort will have a vested interest.
Terre Haute Casino Resort presents casino gaming for Indiana
According to Nicole Krasean of WTWO/WAWV, the Terre Haute Casino Resort will commence gaming operations today. Among the options for gamblers are:
- 1,000 slot machines
- 50 digital versions of table games
- 30 gaming tables
- 6 poker tables
The property also houses a physical sportsbook. Most of the casino’s amenities will be immediately available to patrons as well. Patrons should be familiar with the casino’s operator, Churchill Downs. Churchill Downs won the Indiana casino license in 2021 and targeted the first quarter of 2024 to open the casino.
Thus, everything has gone according to plan for Churchill Downs’ first and only casino in Indiana. That presence may play a role in the future of online casinos in Indiana.
Physical casinos’ role in possible Indiana online casino play
Indiana has an existing framework for legal online sports betting in the state and physical casinos there are heavily involved. The same structure would likely apply to online casino gaming if the state were to ever legalize it.
While Churchill Downs technically has a proprietary online gambling product, TwinSpires, it reduced that product down to a simple horse racing wagering platform in 2022. Thus, it’s probable that in the event of online casino legalization, Churchill Downs would partner with another company on that front.
Because of its interest in such gaming expansion, Churchill Downs could weigh in on how and whether Indiana legalizes online casino apps. For the time being, the company is focused on Terre Haute Casino Resort in terms of its Indiana operations.
