- Indianapolis is an untapped gaming market, a gaming consultant finds
- Full House Resorts is seeking to relocate its Indiana casino license in Rising Sun
New research from a prominent gaming consultancy says that if Indiana decides to allow current casinos to relocate, it would be smart to allow a licensee to move to downtown Indianapolis.
Pennsylvania-based Spectrum Gaming was commissioned by the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) to identify optimal areas where casinos might relocate. The study came after Full House Resorts unsuccessfully lobbied state lawmakers earlier this year to relocate its Rising Sun Casino Resort to a more attractive market.
Analysts at Spectrum say Indiana’s largest city is currently underserved when it comes to casinos. The firm projects that a casino in the capital city would generate annual gross gaming revenue of $493.3 million. That would lead to state tax revenue of $172.6 million.
After downtown Indianapolis, Spectrum concluded that northern Indiana, specifically, an area northwest of Fort Wayne, would be attractive. The report projected that a casino there could generate annual gaming revenue of upwards of $204 million.
Rising Sun Seeks New Market
Full House Resorts, in cahoots with state Sen. Andy Zay (R-Huntington), earlier this year proposed relocating to New Haven in Allen County. The destination is in the northeastern part of the Hoosier State.
Zay filed Senate Bill 293 to allow Full House to move its Rising Sun casino license to New Haven in exchange for a $150 million fee. The statute also stipulated that the Nevada-based company would need to pay a $50 million penalty should it sell or transfer the ownership of the license within five years of the bill’s enactment.
Zay’s bill was tabled by the Senate Public Policy Committee in favor of the IGC commissioning a study to determine the best spots for a new casino. Full House hasn’t said whether it would be interested in investing in a downtown Indianapolis casino.
Zay welcomed the Spectrum findings.
It’s great to see this study recognize the strong economic potential of northeast Indiana. Our region continues to show signs of growth and investment opportunities, and I look forward to continuing my work and reviewing this study to see what possibilities are available to our state and region,” the senator said.
Not all are in favor of allowing Rising Sun to relocate.
Just because a casino is doing bad, to say, ‘Let’s let them move,’ I mean, do we want them to run another casino?” asked Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Mishawaka). “Maybe they’re poorly run.”
Indiana is home to 13 commercial casinos and the Four Winds tribal casino.
Local Pushback
Another opponent to allowing Rising Sun to relocate to Allen County is state Sen. Tyler Johnson (R-Leo), whose district is within Allen.
“The recent report released by the Indiana Gaming Commission ignores risks to families, schools, and public safety — issues my constituents, colleagues, and I demanded be studied,” Johnson said in a statement. “We needed an independent, comprehensive review of social, traffic, and infrastructure costs before any informed decision could possibly be made. Understanding things the way I do now, I oppose this attempt to relocate a casino to my community.”
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