Indiana Casino Bill Set for Final Vote Today

The State of Indiana is in the centre of the attention of the gambling industry today since the House is set to vote on the Indiana Casino Bill. Yesterday, lawmakers decided to reject the provision of a bill which proposed the amount of $200 million to be taken from communities that operate casinos. Today, they will have to decide whether live dealers should be permitted in two Indiana racinos and whether riverboat casinos can move on a nearby land.

The House Bill 1540 was authored by Rep. Thomas Dermody and its supporters believe that it will most certainly help Indiana and its suffering casino industry. The main problem of Indiana’s casinos is the constantly growing competition from neighbouring states and the changes proposed in the bill are seen as a way of improving the situation.

Currently, on the territory of Indiana there are two operating horse track casinos: Anderson’s Hoosier Park and Shelbyville’s Indiana Grand. However, in these casinos table games like blackjack and poker are run by computers since no live dealers are allowed for the games. If the bill is passed, then the operators will be allowed to employ live dealer game hosts.

Governor Mike Pence against Expansion of State’s Gambling Industry

Regardless of what the representatives think, the Indiana Governor Mike Pence is constantly expressing his opposition of expansion of Indiana’s gambling industry. Even though the Governor has not made any comments on this topic, the Republican House Speaker, Brian Bosma, said that Pence is against approving live dealers into racinos.

The spokeswoman for the Governor Pence, Kara Brooks, gave a statement saying that the governor would announce his decision whether he would sign any casino legislation or not only after the final version of the document is provided. Additionally, Brooks pointed out that Pence would by no means act favourable towards one gambling sector over the others.

Ms Brooks also explained that Governor Pence was open to discussions and suggestion that would help Indiana’s gambling industry to remain competitive. Nonetheless, Pence would not be in favour of attempts for further expansion of it.

Real Fight for Expansion of Gaming Industry Is Taking Place in Indiana

It can be said that a real fight for expansion of the gambling industry is taking place in Indiana. The bill that will be voted later today is not the only one that was proposed in the past several weeks. Earlier this year, in January, Alan Morrison introduced two separate gambling bills whose objectives were legalisation of daily fantasy sports and sports betting in the State.

Furthermore, earlier this week a House Bill 1270 was presented which would allow gamblers to wager on races within the borders as well as outside Indiana without having to visit a betting facility. However, that bill wouldn’t allow playing online blackjack games or poker. The bill was passed by the House without a debate with 81 votes for and 15 votes against.