While a gaming bill is still in play in the General
Assembly, state budget forecasters are predicting the payoff to the state from
legalized gambling will be even lower than they thought.
The April budget forecast released this week predicts revenues from the state’s casinos and racinos will drop by $71.5 million more over the next two years than what those forecasters predicted just four months ago.
And it may be worse than it looks, according to one of the chief budget makers who thinks the latest forecast low-balls the coming losses.
“I thought they should have shown a bigger drop,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville. “I don’t think they show the true impact of what’s going to happen. (Gaming) has been a big revenue producer for Indiana, but I don’t think it’s going to continue to be.”
Since the first riverboat casino opened in Indiana in 1995, the state’s gaming industry has poured more than $10 billion in taxes into the state’s coffers, becoming the third largest source of revenue for the state’s general fund.
But with rising competition for gaming dollars in neighboring states — including four new casinos in Ohio — the pool is growing smaller. While the two racinos (horse track-based casinos) have been holding their own, admissions and revenue at the state’s riverboat and land-based casinos are down over the last three years.
...
The April budget forecast released this week predicts revenues from the state’s casinos and racinos will drop by $71.5 million more over the next two years than what those forecasters predicted just four months ago.
And it may be worse than it looks, according to one of the chief budget makers who thinks the latest forecast low-balls the coming losses.
“I thought they should have shown a bigger drop,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville. “I don’t think they show the true impact of what’s going to happen. (Gaming) has been a big revenue producer for Indiana, but I don’t think it’s going to continue to be.”
Since the first riverboat casino opened in Indiana in 1995, the state’s gaming industry has poured more than $10 billion in taxes into the state’s coffers, becoming the third largest source of revenue for the state’s general fund.
But with rising competition for gaming dollars in neighboring states — including four new casinos in Ohio — the pool is growing smaller. While the two racinos (horse track-based casinos) have been holding their own, admissions and revenue at the state’s riverboat and land-based casinos are down over the last three years.
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