Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long recently said he supports forming a summer study committee to consider how to help the state’s riverboat casinos compete with new gambling operations in neighboring states.
Casino tax revenue in Indiana has declined from a peak of $876 million in 2009 to $752 million in fiscal 2013 according to Indiana Gaming Commission numbers. Revenue is down 7 percent, or $20 million, from projections for the fiscal year. And revenue has dropped significantly at the state’s three casinos near Cincinnati since a downtown casino opened there last year.
Despite pleas from Indiana casino industry officials for economic protection from growing competition, state lawmakers have repeatedly said casinos should try to survive on their own. Said Long, “The whole issue seems to revolve around the expansion of gaming and what do you interpret that to mean.”
State Senator Vanetta Becker said she would support a summer study of the Indiana gambling industry. “It is a fact of life that communities and the state rely on that revenue to fund a portion of government services, so I think we ought to look at it to see if there are ways to help the industry and help communities and help the state and decide whether or not doing so is a good public policy,” Becker said.
