Does Indianapolis need a casino? Indy lawmakers advocate for one after past failed attempts
Senate Bill 43, which the Senate passed by a 33-16 vote on Tuesday, simply requires the Indiana Gaming Commission to study where the top three regions in the state would be to place a casino, but some lawmakers' public support of an Indianapolis-based facility could signal an Indy location is possible in the distant future. Lawmakers have to approve the relocation of gaming licenses and new casinos.
The decision to study such a move stems from a discussion lawmakers had to relocate a casino license from Rising Sun, a community along the Ohio River in southern Indiana, north to New Haven near Fort Wayne. Earlier this session the Senate's Committee on Public Policy held a hearing on Senate Bill 293, which would have allowed the move, but the bill died after Lafayette Republican Sen. Ron Alting, the chair of the committee, decided not to call it for a vote.
As senators from northeast Indiana debated the bill Tuesday, Indianapolis Sens. Aaron Freeman, a Republican, and Greg Taylor, a Democrat, said they would welcome a "serious discussion" about gaming in Indianapolis.
Freeman told IndyStar it's clear that downtown Indianapolis would be the best location for a casino that would boost the state's gaming revenue. The potential dollars from a casino could solve budgetary issues in Marion County and should go toward Indianapolis roads, he said.
Members of both political parties and stakeholders like the airport, the convention center and chambers of commerce should come together to consider the opportunity, Freeman said.
"I hope everybody can come together and say, 'Indianapolis is a world-class city.' We have world-class events. We have world-class entertainment," Freeman said. "And to support that and to support our conventions and everything else, absolutely we should put a casino in downtown Indianapolis."
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Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington, carried both SB 43 on studying gambling operations and SB 293 on moving the Rising Sun casino to New Haven. Zay said he recognizes that a casino would add another element to downtown Indianapolis, which already has draws like the convention center, hotels and restaurants.
But the city would likely run into the opposition he saw in northeast Indiana, which ranged from moral concerns about expanding gambling to competing gaming interests.
'You're going to have a lot of resistance with the other casino players and how we can balance all that,' Zay told IndyStar. 'How Sen. Freeman, potentially Sen. Taylor, can negotiate through that could be a tremendous challenge. But what would it add to downtown Indianapolis? Could be exciting.'
Previous attempts to open a casino in Indianapolis have failed.
In 2015, Full House Resorts Inc., which owns Rising Star Casino Resort, proposed building a casino-anchored project on the site of the old Indianapolis International Airport terminal, moving half of its 1,400 allowed gaming gambling table and slot machines to Marion County.
That plan died after the Indianapolis Airport Authority rejected that proposal.
Similarly, when lawmakers discussed moving a Gary license to a new location in 2018, Matt Bell, president of the Casino Association of Indiana, said he had some members who would "vigorously oppose" the idea of a central Indiana casino. Currently there are 13 casinos scattered across the state, with the closest casinos to Indianapolis located in Anderson and Shelbyville.
Senate Bill 43 now goes to the House for consideration. If the bill passes, the study would have to be presented to lawmakers by October.
Contact IndyStar government and politics editor Kaitlin Lange at Kaitlin.Lange@indystar.com or follow her on X @Kaitlin_Lange.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis lawmakers signal openness to Indianapolis casino
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