Northwest Indiana, also known as The Lake Region, The Calumet Region, or just The Region, is comprised of Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, and Jasper counties in Indiana. Not only does the region include a large group of Chicago suburbs, such as Crown Point, Merrillville, Highland, Munster, Griffith, Schererville, and Dyer but also a number of cities whose economies are only loosely linked to Chicago's. The largest city in the region is Gary; other notable cities in the region include Hammond, Hobart, Portage, East Chicago, Valparaiso, and Michigan City.

Since the 1990s, casino gambling has become a notable component of the region's economy. Four casino boats with approximately 6,500 slots and 250 table games are located in Lake County. An additional 1,724 slots and forty nine table games are in Michigan City.