Indiana state Senator Jon Ford recently added online poker to his proposed bill that would allow online casinos.
Ford didn’t include online poker in his original legislation, drafted in October 2020, because he felt that might hurt the bill’s chances. However, following discussions with colleagues and industry officials, he said, “They didn’t think it would be as big an issue as I thought it would be.” He noted he could remove online poker from the measure if the outlook changed later.
The bill would authorize the state’s 14 casinos and racinos to offer online casino games including online poker, and permit each property to have three skins. Operators would pay an initial license fee of $100,000, plus a $25,000 annual renewal fee. Online gaming revenue would be taxed at 18 percent, with 3 percent directed to local governments and 3.3 percent going to problem gambling services. The Indiana Gaming Commission would regulate online gambling.
Ford said online gambling would generate $65 million to $80 million in annual tax revenue. “That certainly helps the argument,” he said. Another plus is the success of sports betting. According to Indiana Gaming Commission data, more than $1.7 billion was wagered on sports in 2020, resulting in $13 million for the state. Nearly 80 percent of sports bets were placed online. “Everyone’s pleasantly surprised with the success of sports wagering. A great percentage of revenue from sports wagering has come from online, so I think it pretty clearly shows the younger generation in Indiana really wants mobile gaming,” Ford stated.
Another bill, filed by Indiana state Rep. Alan Morrison, would repeal the requirement for Spectacle Jack, the new owner of the Terre Haute casino, to make a one-time payment of $1.2 million to the city of Evansville within its first year of operation. One-time payments of $900,000 and $600,000 would follow for the next two years.
The company also would be required to provide hold harmless funding to casino-host cities of East Chicago, French Lick, Hammond and Michigan City during the first four years of operation to compensate for potential revenue losses due to competition from the new Terre Haute casino.
These requirements were included as part of 2019 legislation allowing Spectacle Jack to move one of its gaming licenses to Vigo County.
Morrison said, “Indiana casinos are already taxed heavily, with much of that revenue meant to benefit the communities they’re located in. It’s bad policy to force these gaming establishments to share profits with other cities. Competition in the marketplace is good, and removing these mandatory payments levels the playing field for everyone.”
The measure has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
