At a special ceremony in South Bend, Indiana, Governor Eric Holcomb signed a 20-year gaming compact with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians−the first gaming compact of its kind in the state’s history. The new compact allows the tribe to offer Class III gaming at its Four Winds Casino South Bend; currently the casino offers Class II gaming. The Department of the Interior still must approve the compact.
Holcomb commented, “What I mentioned is that certainty and stability and predictability and continuity that is going to set a sail for decades to come. This is our home, ours together. To have that compact in hand, just makes it official and now the sky’s the limit.”
Under the compact, approved by lawmakers last month, the tribe will pay 8 percent of its net slot handle to the state, which will be used for education, economic and workforce development, tourism and public health.
Tribal Chairman Matt Wesaw noted another major component of the compact is the creation of a $1 million Pokagon-Indiana trust fund. “This will offer any Pokagon citizen the opportunity to attend any state funded institutions of higher education including 2- and 4-year colleges, plus trading vocational schools with all expenses covered,” he said.
The compact will allow the total number of games to be offered at the casino to 3,400. It also will allow sports betting and fantasy sports; bets must be placed on-site at the casino.
