Republican Gov. Mike Pence has set up an interesting face-off with lawmakers over gambling legislation that could make for a negotiating tool as the session draws to a close next month.
Pence said this week that he opposes proposals to expand gambling by letting riverboat operations rebuild on land and authorizing live dealers for table games at the horse-track casinos.
Both provisions are included in a Senate-passed bill that is meant to shore up Indiana’s casino industry so it can better compete against gambling operations in neighboring states. Lawmakers are particularly concerned about new casinos in Ohio, which are siphoning thousands of customers away from Indiana locations.
The bill would also give casinos new tax breaks that are designed to help them attract customers and improve their properties.
Whether the bill represents an expansion of gambling is in the eye of the beholder. Indiana’s casino law doesn’t cap gaming positions — the number of slot machines or table games at each property — and so the casinos can already add more gambling options anytime they want.
The riverboats already can build on barges, meaning they really don’t have to be able to motor anywhere. The big advantage to rebuilding on land is that it can be done more cheaply and the gambling operations can be better integrated into other amenities.
And horse tracks already have electronic table games. Sometimes, a person even stands near them — sort of acting like a dealer but never distributing any cards. That’s something the Indiana Gaming Commission has allowed. Giving the racinos live dealers means they might have more table games and more interest in those table games but it’s not like letting them add a whole new location.
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