The casinos located in the northwest portion of Indiana continued to do well in 2015, closing out the year with a strong December. With the month’s end, the state saw a gaming revenue total that almost matched the total for 2014, keeping the casinos on an even groove in regards to earnings.

December 2015 saw an increase in casino gaming revenues by 3.3%, which gave the state $82.9 million in earnings overall. The four casinos in the northwest area of the state showed a gain for December, the only time a gain was seen in the entire year.

The Northwest region earned a total of $972.6 million for 2015, which was just slightly less than the $974.8 million earned in 2014. The area faced a challenge last year as the neighboring state of Illinois expanded video slot gaming which would draw casino visitors from Indiana.

For Indiana, the Blue Chip of Michigan City and the Ameristar Casino located in East Chicago both saw growth in regards to revenues. Blue Chip earned $159.5 million with an increase of 2.3% while the Ameristar earned $228.2 million, a 3.3% increase as compared to 2014.

The largest casino of the Northwest region, the Horseshoe, was down by 1.7% in revenues but still managed to earn $428.2 million for the year. The Majestic Star saw the largest decrease, 3.5%, bringing revenues down to $156.7 million. The admissions to casinos were down from 5.6 million in 2014 to 5.2 million in 2015.

The state also saw a decrease in the tax take as well with wagering taxes sitting at $118.2 million, lower than the $122.7 million earned in 2014.