Latest news with #IndianaGamingCommission
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How much money has the Terre Haute casino raised for the city and county?
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — After one year of spinning slots, shuffling cards and going all in on big bets, the Terre Haute Casino Resort is starting to pay off in big ways. Since the casino's opening, it's not only been a place for a fun night of gambling, but local officials are also saying the revenue generated from the casino is helping fun projects around Vigo County and the City of Terre Haute. 'I always like to point out that some of our very clear physical projects and improvements people are seeing is coming from gaming tax revenue,' said Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun. According to the Indiana Gaming Commission's Annual Report for 2024, the Terre Haute casino generated over $1 million in supplemental wagering tax from April to June of 2024. Mayor Sakbun said this money goes directly to the city and is helping support projects across the city. 'Definitely from a tax standpoint, the gaming revenue has been helpful. The gaming revenue is going to projects like more street paving, more sidewalks, definitely some demolition projects. As well as its helping fund our YMCA renovation and the Deming Park pool project. So, definitely some good projects,' said Mayor Sakbun. The tax revenue also helps fund projects the city wouldn't be able to do with money from property taxes. Mayor Sakbun said he is always reminding residents that property taxes don't fund street improvements or major park improvements. Projects like that are in part funded by casino's tax revenue. 'So it's very important to say hey look, a lot of these smaller projects and bigger projects you see across the community, they're not coming from you. They are coming from economic development tax revenue and casino gaming tax revenue,' said Mayor Sakbun. The money isn't only benefiting the city, Vigo County Commissioner Mike Morris said the revenue is also helping fund projects around the county, like improvements to the Vigo County Government's I.T. department. 'It's been very helpful. You know, we are kind of, commissioners, are kind of a bricks and mortar kind of people. And when we can see improvements in our departments and use that money to make some sound forward steps,' said Morris. Even if you haven't hit the jackpot at the Terre Haute Casino Resort, officials say local projects show the odds are stacked in the community's favor. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Casino study is a good place to start but could be even better
Lawmakers want to study new locations for casinos. (Photo by) If Indiana were to start from scratch and legalize casino gambling today, we obviously wouldn't leave out the state's two largest population centers. That's why I am intrigued by a bill that would study casino reorganization — from the transfer of an existing, underperforming license to potentially adding a new license. Senate Bill 43 was the result of a failed attempt to move the Rising Star casino in southern Indiana to New Haven, just outside of Fort Wayne. The intense opposition stopped that idea, but led to the next one. The legislation requires the Indiana Gaming Commission to contract out for a study to identify two regions where a license could locate, which could add a 14th license to the mix. Honestly, I think the state needs a much broader study looking at gambling overall. Since Indiana legalized the lottery in 1988, lawmakers have approved virtually every other gambling option you can think about. Riverboat casinos (which have since moved onto land); racinos (which started out as slots at the horse tracks and now are full-fledged casinos); sports betting; charitable gambling; and low-stakes gambling at bars. iGaming proposal for lottery and casinos dead for the session All of these are cannibalizing each other at some point. Not to mention the interactive online gambling that casinos and the Hoosier Lottery are seeking. That bill also stalled this session. Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, called the study 'incredibly shortsighted' in an opposing speech from the Senate floor last month. 'If we are really going to look at this, instead of doing this piecemeal, then let's really look at our gambling revenues,' Brown said. '… If we care, then we should have an honest look at our gaming revenue that we're seeing. Whether it's horse tracks, whether it's the sports betting or whether it's the on-the-ground casinos.' 'It's a Jenga game. They all need to be looked at in a fix,' Brown added. But alas, we will stick with the current discussion. I understand that when gambling started in Indiana, lawmakers chose to put facilities near state lines to attract gamblers hailing from other states in which it wasn't legal. But it's a different world now. It makes no sense that the Indianapolis and Fort Wayne areas don't have casinos — if, indeed, the goal is to maximize tax revenue to the state. An amendment made to Senate Bill 43 acknowledged this, by narrowing the study from three regions to two. Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, said any 'serious conversation' about a license needed to include his hometown, adding that the southeastern casino was 'dying.' 'If the purpose of gaming is revenue, why there is not a casino in downtown Indianapolis defies my understanding,' Freeman said. 'Because it would support all of our tourism, all of our big games, all our industry. Everything in Indianapolis — it would support it.' Some Indiana gambling operators have said this is destabilizing. And, of course, if you move a license to Indianapolis, it will impact the number of people from central Indiana willing to drive to the racinos in Shelbyville or Anderson. Same for Fort Wayne. But I think lawmakers need to look at the overall health of the industry and taxes brought to the state, rather than individual operators. According to annual reports by the Indiana Gaming Commission, gaming and sports wagering operations brought in $691 million in taxes in fiscal year 2022. That dropped down to $655 million in fiscal year 2024. Maybe the answer is fewer licenses overall, but placed for maximum impact. Maybe a study would find we need to go all in on more expansions. Or maybe we are right where we need to be. We need to think bigger, and consider what's best for all of Indiana. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Destabilizing' Indiana casino relocation study could also recommend new license
Lobbyist Jim Purucker testifies in committee on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Indiana legislation to study relocation of a poor-performing casino's license could also lead to a rare license expansion — and regulators have already gotten started. One witness at a Tuesday hearing called the study itself 'destabilizing' for the industry. 'The way that companies would look at this, is studying it would imply that there's an interest in moving it … or creating another one,' said Jim Purucker, a lobbyist representing Caesars Entertainment and its three Hoosier casinos. He said it's 'very fair' for licensees 'to suggest that there's a move afoot.' Senate Bill 43 previously required the Indiana Gaming Commission to contract out for a study to 'identify the top three regions in the state' for a license relocation. After the committee accepted an amendment by consent Tuesday, that analysis would only take place 'subject to available funding.' It narrowed the study to two regions — but expanded it by striking relocation-specific language. 'I think if you just look at a map of casinos in the state, it's pretty clear the biggest hole in the market is northeast Indiana. … The other thing that has been floated multiple times over the years has been an Indianapolis casino,' Rep. Ethan Manning said. He authored the amendment and chairs the committee. 'I think it leaves us a possibility of studying that. … I'm not even sure there would be an appropriate third region to study,' Manning, R-Logansport, continued. Still, he noted that the legislation doesn't dictate locations, and the contractor would choose. Purucker said the study is 'tremendously destabilizing' for the industry and called it 'another factor' in capital expenditure decisions. 'It's just not how we treat any other industry,' Purucker said. 'We don't talk about, you know, how we want to put other competitors in place with other industries.' Manning, however, said more information is preferable. 'It'd be good to … have professionals do the study rather than just (us) just deciding things without the data,' he told Purucker. Rep. Kyle Miller, D-Fort Wayne, said it's also 'entirely possible' that researchers conclude a 14th license 'isn't valuable to the state.' Senate Bill 43 began as an empty vehicle bill — and was only overhauled after the early death of a measure relocating a struggling casino operating near the Indiana-Kentucky border. Full House Resorts hoped Senate Bill 293 would let it move the Rising Star Casino Resort 150 miles north to New Haven, in northeast Indiana. But a Senate committee's chair killed the proposal after listening to about 20 opponents, who feared gambling addictions and other risks to their community. Rep. Justin Moed, D-Indianapolis, asked Sen. Andy Zay — who authored both bills — whether he'd support the study if its recommendations were to point outside northeast Indiana. 'Yeah. I mean, we're here to represent the whole state, and I think that's the genesis of this conversation,' Zay, R-Huntington, replied. 'We have a way under-performing license that really has brought this conversation on … I think it's incumbent upon us to look at our 13 licenses and mak(e) sure that those are being maximized, wherever that would be.' The committee approved the amended bill on a unanimous, 11-0 vote. Regulators would also now have to present their findings to the State Budget Committee by November, a month later than previously proposed. The Indiana Gaming Commission has already made headway on the draft's mandates. In a request for quotations — with submissions due March 14 — regulators wrote, 'This study is being sought in response to currently pending legislation,' and listed requirements copied from the bill 'as currently written.' The commission re-emphasized the bill's pending nature while answering some of the questions asked by interested, in another document obtained by the Capital Chronicle. 'Greater clarity might be possible once the Bill is finalized,' regulators wrote. Editor Niki Kelly contributed reporting. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Does Indianapolis need a casino? Indy lawmakers advocate for one after past failed attempts
A bipartisan pair of Indianapolis senators advocated for a downtown Indianapolis casino on the Senate floor Tuesday, despite years of pushback to the idea from some industry giants. 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." Subscribe to our politics newsletter 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 or follow her on X @Kaitlin_Lange. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis lawmakers signal openness to Indianapolis casino
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Panel seeks to block charities from operating like true casinos
Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, presents legislation in committee on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (Courtesy Indiana Senate Republicans) Less than three months after Hoosier regulators busted a northern Indiana charity casino, lawmakers added anti-fraud measures to legislation loosening spending rules for charity gambling revenue. Charitable, civic, veteran and other groups can earn money off bingo, raffles, and more. But some have gone too far. The Indiana Gaming Commission in December accused a Fort Wayne charity casino, run by an Elks Lodge, of racketeering and seized more than $100,000, WANE reported. 'We're just putting in some safety nets, if you will, to make sure that some of these charitable events like bingo, up north, doesn't turn into full-time casinos with profits like a full-time casino,' Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, told his Public Policy Committee on Wednesday. The substantial amendment, Alting said, is from the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. It begins by renaming popular 'casino game nights' to 'card, dice and roulette games events.' And starting next year, a single location wouldn't be able to host bingo or such 'games events' more than three days a week — no matter how many charities with gambling licenses are using the location. A group conducting bingo and other games events — and that rakes in at least $1 million close to their license's expiration — would have to get an independent financial audit done. CONTACT US And people operating festivals, bingo and other games events would have to wear 'legible identification card(s)' on their clothes. It has to have a first name, last name and the name of the charity group licensed to put on the event. Alting's committee accepted the changes without discussion. The amendment comes just a week after the Senate voted to legalize electronic pull tabs for charity gambling — despite skepticism. Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, alleged that 'figurehead' charities are running multiple gambling organizations to operate more days of the week than is allowed, and Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, complained that groups are holding on to the money raised instead of spending it on charitable purposes. The underlying proposal, Alting's Senate Bill 108, expands uses for charity gambling revenue. Current law indicates groups can use the money 'only for (their) lawful purposes,' including repairs, maintenance and improvements for property they own. The legislation recasts the restrictions to 'any lawful purpose' and nixes the list. Alting said he'd spoken with veteran service organizations struggling to use their revenue. The committee advanced the bill on a unanimous, 9-0 vote. It next heads to the Senate chamber. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
