Indiana Riverboat Casinos May Be Granted Wish To Move Inland

Riverboat casinos in the state of Indiana have been complaining to lawmakers for over a year now about their current situations. Several owners would like to move their casinos off the river, and locate them more inland.

Up until now that idea has been a pipe dream. Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, however, has given the riverboat casinos a reason to believe. Kenley is concerned about the growing competition from neighboring states.

"It's a situation that calls for allowing these people to do things that they ought to be able to do to meet anticipated competition head on," said Kenley. He may not be alone in that train of thought, either.

Other lawmakers are also worried that the new casino expansion that has been approved for Ohio could further hurt the Indiana casinos. Ohio voters approved a plan last November to bring casinos to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, and Columbus.

Reports have been done in preparation for the Ohio casinos and the result is that the Cincinnati casino alone could cost Indiana casinos upwards of $250 million. If that report is accurate, it would cost the state of Indiana almost $100 million in revenue.

Several other options that were being discussed were tax breaks for the casinos and expanded gambling in Indiana to offset the loss of revenue from the competition. There are, however, lawmakers who would not support gambling expansion, leaving the Appropriations Committee to look into the relocation idea.

January 8, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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