Indiana commercial casinos channeled their inner soothsayers as they predict a bleak future for the Hoosier State with the opening of Four Winds Casino South Bend.
Citing the findings of Spectrum Gaming Group, The Associated Press reported that Indiana’s tax revenues will drop by more than $350 million in its first five years once South Bend casino open in 2018.
Casino Association of Indiana, which represents most of Indiana’s commercial casinos, commissioned the report to determine the impact of the Four Winds Casino South Bend that’s being developed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
Spectrum’s analysis found that the tribal casino, which is expected to roll-out the red carpet in early 2018, could cost Indiana’s 11 riverboat casinos and its two horse track casinos more than $800 million in gambling revenue over its first five years of operation by siphoning away some of their customers.
The dwindling income of Indiana’s casinos, according to the report, will dent Indiana’s gambling tax revenues, which is predicted to drop about $282 million over those five years. Indiana will also see massive layoffs as a result of South Bend’s opening.
They estimated that 1,800 people, including more than 700 workers at Indiana’s commercial casinos, will lose their jobs, costing Indiana about $73 million in state income taxes, it found.
Matt Bell, the president and CEO of the Casino Association of Indiana, blamed the state’s unfavorable tax policy toward non-tribal casinos. He pointed out that Indiana’s existing commercial casinos pay an effective 35 percent tax rate on their gambling revenue in wagering and admissions taxes.
Pokagon, on the other hand, won’t be taxed on its revenue, according to Bell.
He further lamented that the revenues of Indiana’s casinos, which have been struggling over the past decade due to competition from surrounding state, will further slide down as a result of the opening of South Bend.
The new report suggests several steps lawmakers might take, including reducing taxes on Indiana’s casinos, to give a boost to those operations.
“There’s no silver bullet,” Bell said. “I think it’s important for legislators to take a comprehensive look at the industry and the challenges it faces today, and create a vision for the future that we can mold policy around.”
