ANDERSON — In its first year, Hoosier Park’s new casino brought in more than three million visitors, but fell victim to a virulent economy and a hefty state licensing fee.

Jim Brown, gaming manager for the casino, said legislators slapped the casino with a $250 million gaming licensing fee when it was built, anticipating that the casino would earn a revenue of about $265 million per year.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, the casino managed to top $200 million but only ended up earning about $217 million.

The $265 million was also expected of Indiana’s other racino, Indiana Live in Shelbyville, Brown said. “There was no history for our facilities and those were estimates generated by firms that specialize in this. Since that time, the economy has faltered.”

Hoosier Park isn’t the only casino to see a drop in revenue in the wake of the economy’s downturn. The economic climate, Brown said, has proved that the gaming industry is not recession-proof. “The industry nationally has fared the way that the economy does.”

Last October, a report revealed that Indiana’s wagering tax and admission revenues fell from the previous year.

Indiana’s French Lick casino’s fall revenue was down $2.7 million from the same season in the previous year. Other Indiana casinos showed a similar stumble.

In Nevada, America’s gambling capitol, October 2008 registered a 22 percent drop from October 2007 in its 10th straight month of declining revenues.

Ball State University economist Michael Hicks speculated in late 2008 that the downturn in gambling revenue was caused by an increase in gambling options for Hoosiers coupled with a stock market that turned into a gamble of its own.

With a $250 million licensing fee and a less than impressive first year, casino officials are hoping to get some help from the state legislator, Brown said.

In February, the House Ways and Means Committee voted in favor of a bill to tax breaks on wagering revenue to Hoosier Park, Indiana Live and Indiana’s Blue Chip Casino.

Hoosier Park lobbyist John Keeler said the casino’s parent company, Centaur LLC, was struggling to pay the high interest on the $250 million loan it took out to pay the state’s licensing fee.

While the casino may have had its fair share of struggles in its first year, it added a much-needed boost in the local economy, attracting more than three million visitors to Anderson.

Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon said the casino had helped the city over the past year by turning it into a destination.