FRANKFORT — Casino boats on the Ohio River made $352 million from Kentucky patrons last year, a $75 million increase from 1999, two economists say in a new study.

        They figured gambling by Kentuckians translated to nearly $95 million in taxes for Indiana and Illinois. That was $19 million more — a 25 percent increase — from their initial study two years earlier.

        One casino, Caesar's Indiana, had been open less than a year at the time of the first study. A second casino, Belterra Resort, had not yet opened, the study noted.

        The study was by Lawrence K. Lynch of Transylvania University and Paul A. Coomes of the University of Louisville. It was conducted for the General Assembly's Program Review and Investigations Committee. The Associated Press obtained a copy Wednesday.

        The study comes at a time when the Kentucky horse industry is floating as idea around the Capitol of allowing racetracks to operate video lottery terminals, or electronic slot machines — “video slots.” No bill has been filed, but one is expected.

        Proponents say the tracks need video slots to compete with casino boats on the Ohio River, off the shorelines of Indiana and Illinois.

        Horse industry officials contend casino boats are making $1 billion a year. Mr. Lynch and Mr. Coomes said in their study that six casinos last year had gambling receipts of nearly that amount — $986 million — and Kentucky residents lost $352 million. The same patrons spent $56.4 million on food, beverages and rooms, the study said.

        But Mr. Lynch and Mr. Coomes also cautioned that their figures “do not reflect what Kentucky might gain if the state were to legalize some form of casino gambling.”

        Many Kentuckians who gamble on the Ohio River boats would continue to do so. “And if Kentucky-based casinos were successful in attracting Kentuckians who do not now gamble at the riverboats, other Kentucky recreation businesses would lose revenue,” the authors said.

        The study also said riverboat gambling along the Ohio River “is primarily a local entertainment industry, not a tourism draw,” because 95 percent of their patrons live within 120 miles. Forty percent live within 20 miles.

        “Hence the economic effect is primarily to transfer local spending from other local businesses to the casinos,” they wrote.

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