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Sunday, November 08, 2009
Ind. Gov't - Yet more on: "State no longer holds all cards"
Updating this ILB entry from Nov. 5th, editorials in two papers today don't accept that the gambling industry in Indiana is too big to allow to fail.
- From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, this editorial that concludes:
In all, the [Legislative Services] report paints grim prospects for Indiana’s continued reliance on gambling revenues – the realization of which grew more likely with the results of the Ohio vote.
Indiana is no longer the only game in town when it comes to gambling. Hoosier lawmakers must accept that fact and begin the hard work of cutting spending or finding new revenues to support vital state spending.
- From the Indianapolis Star, some quotes from this editorial:
State leaders soon will have to make a critical decision about Indiana's joined-at-the-wallet relationship with casinos.
Start to back away from the table now that Ohio has upped the ante? Or bet even more of the state's future on additional casinos, flashier gambling halls and hefty tax breaks for the national corporations that lure gullible Hoosiers to their slot machines?
Ohio's electorate on Tuesday voted to legalize casinos in their state (a choice, by the way, that Indiana voters never had the opportunity to make). The fallout for Indiana could be devastating, at least to state and local budgets that are propped up by gambling dollars. * * *
How should the state respond? Casino proponents already are pushing for an escalation in the tug-of-war over gamblers. Land-based casinos, presumably some distance from state lines, offer one option. Cutting taxes on casinos is another, although that would do little to ease state and local governments' problems. * * *
In some respects, Indiana has walked this path before. The drive for dockside gambling in the state was launched a few years ago in partial response to moves made in Illinois. The expansion of casinos in Michigan prodded the operators of Northwest Indiana's riverboats to seek new favors from the General Assembly.
State leaders' typical response, after some initial hesitation, has been to give into the industry's demands. The concessions have been driven both by the fear of lost tax revenue and a strong desire to pile up what until now has been the easy money that comes with gamblers' losses. This time, however, the stakes are much higher.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 8, 2009 12:29 PM
Posted to Indiana Government