Indiana Looks to Keep Casino Industry Strong
In today’s world legislators are looking for more revenue. The recession was hard on almost every state and most are fighting with a huge deficit and shortfall in funding. How to bring more money into the state is a primary issue that legislators are wrestling with. Gambling is quickly becoming one of the go-to solutions for problems. It’s no secret that gambling is a billion-dollar industry and the money legislators need to thrive may be tied to allowing gambling’s legalization.
Indiana is another state wrestling with how to keep their casino gambling industry alive. Legislators just put together a study of different aspects of gambling within the state. One of the answers found by the research was that riverboat casinos could be moved inland. This would keep people who want to gamble from having to go to other neighboring states to do so. Senator Luke Kenley said, “As in any other industry, particularly those that cater to retail consumers, it’s all about location. We think their ability to go to a better location would increase their volume and the amount of business they could do.” Along with other lawmakers, Kenley believes that moving riverboats is a positive move that could elevate gambling revenues and give people what they want in the state.
Despite its advantages, moving the riverboats is quite a task. The study showed that every riverboat that is moving should have a state-instituted fee that they have to submit prior to the change of location. The study confirmed that tax rates will remain the same for riverboat casinos.
Indiana lawmakers have had to revisit their gambling laws because of increased competition from neighboring states. Ohio, in particular, is going to make a big jump into the casino industry, with four casinos planned, one each in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo. The four neighboring casinos are new and planned as state-of-the-art facilities that should being in millions of residents not only of Ohio, but of all neighboring states. It will be difficult for any state to compete with the new fabulous four casinos and for any state that wants to remain competitive, they need to come up with a plan.
