Modified Casino Relocation, Sports Betting Bill Passes Senate

Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 10:22 AM

By Mike Perleberg @mikedup84

A local state senator explains what the legislation may mean for southeastern Indiana's riverboats.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) – Sports betting, table games at racinos, a competition to open a new casino in Terre Haute, and more casino gaming matters are wrapped up into a wide-ranging bill which passed the Indiana Senate on Tuesday.

Senators passed Senate Bill 552 on a 38-11 vote, advancing it to the Indiana House of Representatives. Though some lawmakers contend it is not an expansion of casino gaming in Indiana because it creates no new casino licenses, it is considered the greatest change for legalized gambling in the state since the first casinos opened in the 1990s.

State Senator Chip Perfect (R-Lawrenceburg) was among those voting in favor of the bill. He said the bill has many moving parts.

“The author, Mark Messmer, really made a lot of effort to try to balance the interests,” said Perfect.

Under the legislation authored by Sen. Messmer (R-Jasper) and co-authored by State Senator John Ford (R-Terre Haute), any of Indiana’s 13 casinos or horsetrack racinos could apply to the Indiana Gaming Commission to offer sports betting.

An U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year effectually deemed sports betting legal in every state. Legislatures in Indiana and elsewhere are now putting policies in place to manage the industry and create a new tax revenue stream.

The proposal would let Majestic Star Casino in Gary to combine its two riverboat casinos into one land-based casino in northwestern Indiana. It’s second license would be relocated to a proposed new casino in Vigo County, likely in or near Terre Haute.

The Gary casino licenses are currently held by Spectacle Entertainment.

The original version of SB 552 would have allowed a current casino license holder to compete for the opportunity to relocate some of their slots and table games to Terre Haute. That provision, supported by Rising Star Casino owner Full House Resorts, was amended out of the bill.

“That concept didn’t catch hold,” explained Perfect. He added that his discussions with Full House Resorts indicate the company is still excited about competing for the Terre Haute license.

The current version of the bill approved by the Senate would still give Full House Resorts and other riverboat casino owners the opportunity to compete for ownership of a casino to be relocated from Gary to Terre Haute.

“Each casino operator would put together a package, much like happened 27 years ago, to compete for the license. That package would include how much money they are going to spend on a casino, hotel, or local development, but also ask for that license. So everybody gets a fair shot,” Perfect said.

Under the legislation, a company would be allowed to simultaneously hold more than two casino licenses for the first time.

SB 552 also gives the racinos in Shelbyville and Anderson the ability to add live table games this year. Another gaming law passed in 2017 has previously put that date in 2021. The addition of live games – those with human card, roulette, or craps dealers – at racinos is largely considered a detriment to southeastern Indiana’s three casinos who may attract gamblers from Indianapolis or other areas who prefer live dealers.

Perfect said there is not as much in the bill for southeastern Indiana casinos as he would have liked, though he did vote to pass it. He noted that the bill does raise the amount of free play Indiana casinos can award to customers in order to compete with casinos in Ohio.

Perfect shared that he had planned to offer an amendment to the bill to more clearly define casinos’ adjusted gross revenue in an effort to protect local riverboat revenues for casino host communities like Lawrenceburg and Rising Sun. He decided not to after reaching an agreement with Senator Messmer, the bill author.

“This moving of the licenses is going to change the revenue picture. We want to make sure that all the adjusted gross revenue that is associated with all these different casinos and racinos is part of the new floor, because in 2020 we will set a new base for how hold harmless dollars (for host communities) are calculated,” said Perfect.

Another casino gaming-related bill, Senate Bill 66, also passed the Senate on a 43-6 vote. Perfect voted for it, too.

Dealing with economic development in Gary, SB 66 would allow the one casino remaining in Gary to relocate to another spot within the city’s limits. The land where the casinos currently reside would be turned over to an entity creating a new port in Gary.

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