Gambling expansion
INDIANAPOLIS--The gaming industry produces the third-highest tax revenues in Indiana and the state soon may be bringing them inland.
Senate Bill 405, heard by the Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee, lists possible new provisions for the gambling industry including:
--converting a riverboat into a permanently moored vessel;
--imposing a $50 million relocation fee to any casino that wants to move inland;
--reducing the admission tax to the French Lick riverboat form $4 to $3.
While the bill wasn't voted on Thursday, many people testified on the bill.
Gary Mayor Rudy Clay is in support of the bill, which he believes will help his city compete with the already growing casino industries in both Illinois and Ohio.
"We have to come out of the dark ages and look at what they're doing in Ohio," said Clay. "The time is now. The time is right. We have to do it."
For Mike Summers, business manager for Ironworkers Local 395, the thought of building inland casinos is a way to help his union's 30 percent unemployment.
"When the steel industry went down, the gaming industry stepped up," said Summers. "The next big step is bringing casinos inland.
In a surprise to those on the committee, John Barnett, from the Casino Association of Indiana, wants the bill to be postponed until the next session and until the Gaming Study Report can be thoroughly looked through.
Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, believes the bill needs to be passed in this session.
"One of the ways to kill a bill is to talk about delay," said Rogers. "I am surprised by the persons who say that they want a delay. This industry has earned the right to continue to thrive."
