The House is likely to unveil its version of a gambling bill next week

 

(NETWORK INDIANA)   The Senate-passed bill has four major pieces: a casino for Terre Haute, a move downtown for a Gary casino, live table games in Anderson and Shelbyville, and sports wagering. The House Public Policy Committee took testimony this week and is likely to vote next week, because the bill needs time to go through a second committee before reaching the House floor. Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) says Public Policy Chairman Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn) and Ways and Means Co-Chairman Todd Huston (R-Fishers) are both likely to make revisions.

Bosma isn’t saying what changes he’d prefer, though he says he’s generally been skeptical of expanding gambling. He and Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray both say the bill is a delicate balance — every change has a ripple effect, which in turn affects how many votes it gets.

Casinos in Lawrenceburg, East Chicago and Hammond are already raising objections. Lawrenceburg’s Hollywood Casino is concerned about losing business to the two racetrack casinos if they add live dealers. That change is currently scheduled for 2021 — the bill would allow it this year. And casino executives and city officials in East Chicago and Hammond say a “hold-harmless” provision intended to prevent them from losing money to a relocated casino in downtown Gary isn’t good enough. They say supporters are tearing up longstanding rules which limited casino expansions to the existing property.

Gary officials have said getting the Majestic Star Casinos off the lakefront would clear a path to develop Buffington Harbor into a major shipping hub. But Bosma suggests that argument will have little effect on the debate. There’s not a specific redevelopment plan, and Bosma says the condition of the harbor raises questions about whether there could be.

No matter what changes the House makes, a final bill won’t be hammered out till the last days of the legislative session next month, when House and Senate negotiators try to agree on a single version.