Indiana lawmakers look for better success in 2026 for online casino legalization

A failure to push legislation across the finish line to authorize state-regulated online casinos in Indiana has not dissuaded lawmakers from making another effort this year.

What has changed, however, is how they are approaching the subject. Last session, lawmakers attempted to push a bill that would legalize casino apps and internet lottery, a proposal that did not make it out of committee. This time around, the two verticals are being separated – and legislators are hoping that makes the difference in 2026.

Indiana is on the verge of another wave of legal gambling expansion, some seven years after the state legalized sports betting. 

State officials are giving serious consideration to adding a retail casino in the Indianapolis or Fort Wayne areas, for starters. Now they are also aiming to legalize internet lottery and casino apps.

A House committee advanced a bill just after the new year that would authorize online lottery, which Hoosier Lottery nearly did in 2022 before lawmakers determined that passing such a law required legislative approval. That's exactly what the state hopes to do with House Bill 1078, which would modernize the lottery and appeal to younger customers.

The same committee then proposed adding language to a routine administrative bill that would legalize casino games online in Indiana, a bill that the committee would vote on the next time it meets.

Like in many states looking to legalize online casinos, Indiana legislators have pointed out that state residents are already gambling with offshore and illegal sites as it is. By banning online casino gambling altogether, Rep. Kyle Miller said, it punishes the operators that are licenses and regulated in other jurisdictions and rewards offshore casinos.

Some of the language within the administrative bill establishes a problem gambling fund that would contribute toward prevention and treatment programs for individuals who struggle with gambling addiction.

Last year, when the topic of legalizing online casinos was broached, fiscal analysts estimated that iGaming would generate upward of $185 million in state tax revenue.

That said, land-based casino operators and stakeholders expressed reservations about green-lighting online casinos in Indiana, specifically noting the potential cannibalization that online gambling could have on the retail businesses.

It seemed as if online casino legalization had the support of both the House speaker and the Senate president pro tempore, each of whom indicated that they were open to doing so.

But including online casino legalization language into a routine administrative bill may not be the way to go about it, according to Rep. Peggy Mayfield. Mayfield told the Indianapolis Star that legalizing iGaming is more of a "substantive policy issue" that "deserves more discussion.

Grant Lucas