Overview
- A state-commissioned Spectrum Gaming Group analysis projects about $493.3 million in adjusted gross receipts and $170.7 million in state tax receipts for a downtown site modeled near the Statehouse.
- A secondary proxy near I-69 and State Road 8 north of Fort Wayne is estimated to generate $204.3 million in adjusted gross receipts and $61.1 million in state tax receipts.
- The report warns a downtown casino could divert roughly $140 million from racetrack casinos, reducing horse-racing purses by an estimated $10 million to $17 million, compared with about $1.7 million in losses for the northeast option.
- Required by Senate Enrolled Act 43, the findings were presented to the State Budget Committee and emphasize relocating an existing riverboat license rather than creating new ones, with four unmet-demand clusters identified statewide.
- Reaction was mixed, with Sen. Ryan Mishler questioning moving a struggling operator such as Rising Star, Sen. Andy Zay welcoming the northeast potential, and Sen. Tyler Johnson opposing a casino near his district; the Miami Tribe says its nearby land would not be used for gambling.