State Addicted to Gambling

Or "The Great Race to the Bottom."


You just can't let those revenues go across state lines --
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....the state is facing competition from beyond its borders as Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky are weighing their own gambling options or expanding existing operations.
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....the state could lose up to $250 million in casino tax revenue if Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio ramp up their gambling efforts.

Addictive Slots to save racing???

...slot machines and subsidies to the state's horse-racing industry have put them in an unprofitable situation.

"a model that has destined Indiana's horse-track casinos to eventual failure."

We have heard this before --

The state may have passed the saturation point of gambling. There simply is no more easy money to take off the table.

OUR VIEW: Indiana now addicted to gambling revenue
THE STAR PRESS • October 22, 2009

Like an addict hooked on drugs, Indiana might be facing severe withdrawal symptoms in the next few months.



Indiana's drug of choice for the state is revenue generated from gambling ventures such as horse tracks, casinos and lottery tickets.

And like an addict who needs more drugs to maintain the same high, Indiana needs more revenue just to maintain current funding levels. Trouble is, the money is starting to dry up.

State leaders have two alternatives: Learn to live with less revenue, or take steps to continue expanding gambling options for Hoosiers. Neither one is attractive.

Gambling revenue from within the state is falling as Hoosiers weather the recession, and the state is facing competition from beyond its borders as Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky are weighing their own gambling options or expanding existing operations.

The Hoosier Lottery's profit from ticket sales in fiscal year 2009 dropped 17.5 percent, the biggest drop of any state in the nation.

To make matters worse, owners of Indiana's two horse-track casinos, Indiana Live Casino in Shelbyville and Hoosier Park in Anderson, told a Gambling Study Committee that paying $250 million for the rights to have slot machines and subsidies to the state's horse-racing industry have put them in an unprofitable situation. According to an article in The Indianapolis Star, Hoosier Park General Manager Jim Brown said the state's licensing fee structures has created "a model that has destined Indiana's horse-track casinos to eventual failure."

The "racino" owners want changes to licensing fees, which can affect their tax rates. Bottom line: They don't want to pay as much as in the past.

Outside Indiana, lawmakers were told the state could lose up to $250 million in casino tax revenue if Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio ramp up their gambling efforts. People who used to come to Indiana to wager can now stay closer to home, and the state loses out.

Gambling was once thought to be a recession-proof way to feed the state's coffers. Not so anymore. Economists believe revenue growth in gambling will not keep pace with the state's budgetary needs.

The state may have passed the saturation point of gambling. There simply is no more easy money to take off the table.

It's a safe bet that Indiana lawmakers in the upcoming session will deal with gambling issues, yet again.

And it's within the realm of possibility that racinos will receive some kind of financial break; existing casinos will have some latitude to move away from riverboats and more inland; and that proposals might be floated to allow bars to install video gaming devices and make legal what is often done in secret. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

In the meantime, anybody want to make a wager that the gambling industry will tell us that they're too big to fail?

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