Indiana Senate passes 'major expansion' of sports betting and gaming

The Indiana Senate passed what's been labeled by some as one of the largest proposed expansions of gaming in state history.

Senate Bill 552 would legalize sports betting, allow for a Gary casino license to move across the state, remove a cap on the number of in-state casinos a company can own and move up the date when horse racing casinos, or racinos, can use live dealers for table games.

Bill author Sen. Mark Messmer, R-Jasper, called it a "once-in-a-generation opportunity."

Supporters of the bill, which passed in the Senate by a 38-11 vote, have been reluctant to frame the measure as an expansion of gaming, an idea some lawmakers have refrained from embracing.

That could be a challenge as the bill moves to the House, where Speaker Brian Bosma called the legislation a "major expansion," perhaps the largest since horse racing casinos were allowed to implement slot machines in 2007.

"It's difficult to find a place where a large expansion like that can pass. I'm surprised it had passed the Senate," Bosma said. "If there's a new casino facility, I don't know how anyone can argue that it's not an expansion."

The portion of the bill that's received the most scrutiny so far is the provision allowing one of the two Gary casino licenses to move to Terre Haute to make room for economic development in Gary's Buffington Harbor. Currently those two licenses are owned by the same company and are used to operate two riverboat casinos sitting side by side.

Other casino owners would have the opportunity to compete for that Terre Haute license in the bill's present form, but it's uncertain if that provision will stay in the final bill.

Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, and other supporters argued that part of the bill is not an expansion because it doesn't create a brand new license.

"I don’t see this as an expansion of gaming," Melton said. "I see this as an opportunity to leverage our existing assets."

Meanwhile, the provision legalizing sports betting — which could bring in an extra $1.6 million to the state's budget in 2020 — has gone largely ignored, despite its potential impact statewide. Under the proposed language, any of the state's casinos, racinos or satellite locations could apply to offer sports betting. Betting on amateur or high school sports, as well as video games, wouldn't be permitted.

In this Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 photo, Rhode Island state Rep. William O'Brien places a $100 bet at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., on the New England Patriots NFL football team to win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53. Fans of the Patriots are gearing up for Super Bowl 53 by betting on the game, the first time they can do so legally in New England. Rhode Island is the only state in the region that has launched sports betting so far.

Bosma said it hasn't been a contentious issues, because the U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled it legal for states to permit sports betting, and people are already doing so illegally in Indiana.

The idea isn't as popular outside of the Statehouse. According to The Old National Bank/Ball State University 2018 Hoosier Survey, 50 percent of Hoosiers were opposed to using sports gaming as a revenue source, while only 37 percent were in favor.

Bosma is less fond of the proposal to move up the date to implement table gaming at Indiana's racinos to 2019, instead of 2021, because the original year was intended to give French Lick Casino more time to prepare for increased competition.

SB 552 could signify a shift in attitudes toward gaming in the Indiana General Assembly. Bosma and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, who has only served in the Statehouse since 2012, disagree on whether the measure constituted a substantial expansion of gaming.

Likewise, Gov. Eric Holcomb has shown less reluctance to sign gaming bills than his predecessor. Gov. Mike Pence was vocal about his opposition to the expansion of gaming in Indiana.

Bosma's wariness of expansion is more in line with the views of others who have served in the Statehouse since the early days of gaming.

The House will take up SB 552 within the next month and a half.