INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Money trouble to the west, could eventually mean money trouble here in Indiana. Illinois is on the verge of expanding its casino industry to help fill state coffers.
Experts say you can bet that will have a direct impact on the Hoosier State. In Indiana, you don't have to play the slots to win. You don't even have to go to a casino.
Gambling proponents say the tax revenue collected from casinos is a win for all Hoosiers.
According to the Casino Association of Indiana, the state?s 11 casinos are the 5th largest employer in the state. Together they have paid more than $11 billion in taxes since 1996.
Governor Mike Pence is against any legislation that allows casinos to grow.???
?I made it clear early on in this session I did not support an expansion of gaming in Indiana,? said Pence.
That said, the State's Gaming Commission announced last year that Indiana's casino revenues are under attack.
Budget planners anticipate a 20 percent drop in the coming years.
The main reason -- new casinos in neighboring states are stealing gamblers and therefore tax revenue from Indiana.
This spring a new Horseshoe Casino opened in Cincinnati. Experts say as many as six Indiana casinos will lose business because of it.
Now, a bill to add five new casinos in Illinois, including one in Chicago, is before that state's governor.
Numbers tell the story.?
According to the Indiana Gaming Commission, wagering taxes in Indiana dropped 4.23 percent, or $33.3 million, last year after a new casino opened in a northwest Chicago suburb.
The out of state assault on Indiana's casino business wasn't enough to convince the Indiana legislature to take real action.
A recent push to create 600 jobs by adding live dealers at casinos went nowhere.
Lawmakers did pass a bill that provides some tax breaks to Indiana casinos. The bill is headed for the Governor for consideration.
Source: http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/indiana/illinois-casinos-could-impact-indianas
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