Indiana state Rep. Todd Huston has proposed an amendment that would stop the city of South Bend from receiving 0,000 in annual Riverboat Wagering Tax Revenue, since it will receive money from the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ Four Winds South Bend casino, now under construction. “It appears that South Bend is double dipping. They’re choosing. I don’t begrudge them for this. They’ve created a deal with a tribal casino that is, that I noted is, hopefully going to be lucrative for them,” Huston said.
State Rep. Ryan Dvorak of South Bend said during floor debate, Huston said communities with riverboat casinos are excluded from receiving the Riverboat Wagering Tax Revenue money because state law entitles them to larger annual payouts directly from the casinos. “The agreement with the Pokagons isn’t the same sort of mandate under state statute. This was just done because they felt like it and they could take it away anytime they want,” Dvorak said.
Under South Bend’s agreement with the Pokagon Band, it will receive the larger of 2 percent of the casino’s annual net win or $1 million, if the casino has 1,700 or fewer gaming machines; or the larger of 2 percent of net win or $2 million if the casino has more than 1,700 machines.
James Mueller, Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s chief of staff, said the bill is not fair since it would deny the city riverboat revenue starting in 2018, but Four Winds revenue sharing would not begin until 2019 at the earliest. Mueller said the city will would receive more money from the Four Winds deal than the riverboat gambling revenue.
Another House bill that’s causing some consternation is House Bill 1350, which would eliminate the $3 casino admission fee and add a 3 percent tax on gaming revenue. The governments of LaPorte County and Michigan City have joined forces to hire a lobbyist to fight the proposal.
LaPorte County Attorney Doug Biege said the measure would cost the local governments at least $8,000 per month in lost admission fees and reduce by half the $50 million in revenue area casinos generate annually for the region. Biege said the two local governments will invest $10,000 to battle the bill. “We’re doing this together,” Biege said.
LaPorte County Commission President Rich Mrozinsk said local casinos revenue has decreased over the past decade since the Four Winds Casino opened outside of New Buffalo.
