According to state records, since 1996 local governments in Lake County have collected nearly .4 billion in payments from northwestern Indiana’s four casinos–Hammond’s Horseshoe Casino, East Chicago’s Ameristar Casino, the two Majestic Star casino boats in Gary and Blue Chip. The money comes from admission taxes, wagering taxes, property taxes and local development agreements. In 2015, those revenues, prior to mandatory distributions, totaled million for Hammond, million for East Chicago and million for Gary, state records indicated.
Local governments mainly have used casino revenues to improve roads and other infrastructure–occasionally for the first time in more than a century. Several have updated streetlights, parks, sidewalks and marinas. Hammond, for example, has rebuilt 65 percent of its 300 miles of streets and alleys in the past two decades. Local governments also have used casino revenue for a wide array of projects, including improvements to the Gary/Chicago airport, construction of a lake pavilion, flood control on the Little Calumet River, neighborhood revitalization and public transit enhancements. A portion of the money supports the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, the Indiana State Fair, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction and college scholarship programs.
For many years, thanks to casino tax receipts, Lake County residents did not have to pay a county income tax; that ended in 2013. The county also is required by law to annually distribute about $3 million in gaming tax revenue to the 16 Lake municipalities that do not have casino gambling.
