Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced plans to upgrade its properties across Indiana in preparations for the launch of sports betting in the state, local news outlet the Indianapolis Business Journal reported on Tuesday.
News about the Las Vegas casino giant getting ready to capitalize on the recent legalization of sports betting in Indiana arrived a day after it was announced that Caesars will be acquired by Eldorado Resorts in a $17.3 billion deal, including debt.
In May, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law a bill calling for the legalization of gambling on professional and collegiate sporting events. Licensed sports betting operators will be able to provide their services at a physical location within a land-based gaming venue or digitally via desktop and smartphone.
The recently signed law is set to take effect on September 1. However, the Indiana Gaming Commission, which was tasked with crafting the framework of rules that will govern the state’s nascent betting industry, said last month that local bettors might have to wait a little longer than expected before being able to legally bet on their favorite sports.
The commission pointed out that while it will try, it might not be ready to authorize the launch of sports betting on September 1, as “there are many factors outside of our control.”
Getting Ready for Betting Expansion
Caesars, which will soon be part of the largest US casino company, owns four casinos and three off-track betting facilities around Indiana. The operator plans to add sportsbooks to all of them. Caesars has not disclosed information about the total investment it will make into expanding into Indiana’s betting market.
Commenting on the planned upgrades, Kyle Waggoner, Vice President of Hospitality at Caesars, told the Indianapolis Business Journal that they are “kind of getting prepared for when those [new sports gambling regulations] come in.”
The company official also provided a bit more details about what their sports betting operations in the state would feature. At the Winner’s Circle OTB, Caesars’ Downtown Indianapolis facility, the company will add more bar seating and televisions and would adjust its floor plan in a manner that would allow patrons to see the TV screens, which will broadcast various sporting events and show odds, from throughout the facility.
There will be terminals for bettors to place their wagers. Those will come in addition to the OTB’s existing horse race betting terminals. The OTB will also have a new activity area with cornhole boards and shuffleboard in a bid to appeal even more to the younger clientele Caesars expects sports betting will draw.
Mr. Waggoner said that the overall effect after the upgrades would be a sports bar type atmosphere with “a more modern fresh feel to the location.”
Caesars plans to add similar amenities at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville, Harrah’s Hoosier Park & Casino in Anderson, Horseshoe Southern Indiana in Elizabeth, which is undergoing an $85 million expansion, Horseshoe Hammond as well as at its other two OTBs in Clarksville and New Haven.
The upgrades at Caesars’ Indiana properties are expected to be completed by the end of the year ahead of the expected finalization of the acquisition of the company by Eldorado in the first half of 2020.
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