After 18 months of negotiations, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Chairman Matthew Wesaw recently signed a 20-year tribal-state gaming compact that will allow the tribe’s Four Winds Casino in South Bend to offer Class III gaming, including slot machines, table games and sports betting. The compact won’t take effect until it’s approved by the state legislature; to that end, state Senator Ryan Mishler has filed Senate Bill 356. Then the compact must be approved by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and published in the Federal Register.
Indiana Gaming Commission Executive Director Sara Tait, lead compact negotiator for the stat, said, “Federal and state law require the governor to negotiate a tribal-state compact in good faith. The executed compact comes after many months of negotiations and hard work. The state team took great measures to ensure this compact complies with all state and federal laws and includes provisions permissible under federal law. The state continues to be committed to an ongoing and productive relationship with the Pokagon Band.”
Officials at the Pokagon Band, based in Dowagiac, Michigan, stated, “This compact was executed in accordance with state law and federal law and obligations and recognizes the sovereign rights of both the state of Indiana and the Pokagon Band. It demonstrates the value of our ongoing government-to-government relationship and the commitment of each party to fulfill their responsibilities to their citizens while working cooperatively to comply with all applicable laws.”
Opened January 16, 2018, the 175,000-square-foot Four Winds currently offers 1,800 bingo-type slots, pull-tabs and poker. Under the compact, Four Winds could offer 3,403 gaming positions, plus any gambling game permitted at state-regulated casinos. Mobile sports wagering would be limited to the 166-acre tribal property.
Instead of paying a 15 percent to 40 percent tax on revenue like the state’s commercial casinos, the tribe has agreed in the compact to pay 8 percent of slot win to the state, in exchange for an exclusivity agreement banning competition within 50 miles of Four Winds, including Lake Porter and LaPorte counties.
Also, like the commercial casinos, the tribe agreed to withhold jackpot winnings from individuals who are behind in child support payments. It also committed to not making campaign donations to candidates for state or local office and not sending marketing materials to those who have signed up for the state’s voluntary exclusion program.
The 6,000-member Pokagon Band also operates casinos in New Buffalo, Hartford and Dowagiac in southwestern Michigan.
