The riverboat casino industry floated a study Wednesday predicting that dockside gambling in Indiana could generate about $328 million in new tax revenue to help balance the next two-year budget.
The Casino Association of Indiana hopes to capitalize on lawmakers’ concerns that they don’t have enough money to balance the state’s books and still launch new programs.
Association Chairman Joe Domenico, general manager of Harrahs’s East Chicago Casino, said no other proposal besides legalizing dockside gambling comes close to providing what he called “desperately needed revenue” for the state.
The group says dockside gambling also is needed for the industry to stay competitive with other states, including Illinois, where casino revenues rose sharply after casinos were allowed to remain dockside so patrons could came and go at will.
But the industry faces some serious obstacles this legislative session, including Democratic Gov. Frank O’Bannon’s insistence that dockside gaming is an extension of gambling, something he has repeatedly said he opposes.
Under current law, Indiana’s 10 riverboat casinos on Lake Michigan and the Ohio River are required to cruise when gambling is taking place, unless bad weather or other conditions prevent it.
