State just days away from legalized sports betting

INDIANAPOLIS >> Sports betting is days away from becoming legal in Indiana and the state’s casinos are lining up to start collecting wagers.

Indiana will become the 12th state — and the first in the midst of major Midwest markets — with sports betting when a new state law takes effect Sunday.

At least three casinos — ones near Indianapolis, Chicago and Cincinnati — plan to open on-site sports wagering areas that day. Some others plan similar openings before the NFL season kicks off on Sept. 5.

The Indiana Gaming Commission voted Wednesday to approve sports wagering regulations. Eleven of the 13 state-regulated casinos and all three of its offtrack betting parlors have received temporary sports betting licenses. The casinos are still working to launch mobile betting apps in the state.

A flurry of sports books are set to open in early September as they gain approval from state regulators.

Caesars Entertainment is Indiana’s biggest casino operator and is targeting a Sunday start for sports wagering at its Indiana Grand casino in Shelbyville, near Indianapolis. It plans to offer it at its OTB in downtown Indianapolis on Tuesday and at its Horseshoe Hammond casino just across the state line from Chicago the following day.

Rival Penn National is also jumping quickly with Sunday starts planned for its casinos that also tap big nearby metro areas: Ameristar East Chicago and Hollywood in Lawrenceburg, which is a short drive from Cincinnati and its northern Kentucky suburbs.