List of Casinos in Indiana - History - Casino Legalization Efforts

Casino Legalization Efforts

The Indiana Constitution of 1851 included a ban on lotteries, which was broadly construed by courts as a prohibition on gambling in general. In 1988, state voters approved a constitutional amendment lifting the lottery ban. Critics said the measure would lead to casino gambling, while legislators said there would be little support for casinos.

Within months of the amendment's passage, Gary mayor Thomas Barnes proposed opening up the economically depressed city to high-rise resort casinos. The Indiana General Assembly rejected a Gary casino bill in 1989, but did assent to a non-binding referendum, which city voters approved by 60 percent. The city began talks to acquire 350 acres of land at the Gary Works for as many as five casinos.

Gaming companies from Nevada and Atlantic City flocked to join in lobbying efforts to support a second attempt in the 1990 legislative session, but it was blocked by Senate Republican leaders. In the 1991 session, state Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary introduced an expanded bill authorizing riverboat casinos on the Ohio River and a casino in the resort area of French Lick and West Baden Springs, to attract broader support. The mayor of Hammond floated the idea of converting the SS Clipper into a casino, but it was not included in the bill. The proposal passed the House but was rejected by a Senate committee.

Brown introduced a Gary casino bill in the 1992 session, but it drew little support due to legislators' aversion to controversy in an election year. Southern Indiana legislators introduced a bill to allow riverboat casinos on the Ohio River, which passed the House, and was then expanded, with support from Gary lawmakers, to include boats on Lake Michigan, which were seen as less controversial than land-based casinos. The bill was rejected by the Senate.

With new backing from Republican entrepreneur Dean White, Brown reintroduced his bill in the 1993 session, with land-based casinos in Gary and French Lick, and riverboats on the Ohio River, and it passed the House, but was again voted down in Senate committe. A measure was introduced later in the session to allow four riverboats each on Lake Michigan and the Ohio, but it was killed by Senate leaders.

Because it failed to approve a budget, the Assembly convened for a special session in June 1993. After weeks of wrangling, a compromise was reached on a Republican budget with no tax increases, with a few side issues to appease Democrats, including authorization of riverboat casinos. The law allowed up to five sites on the shore of Lake Michigan (including two in Gary), five on the Ohio River, and one on Patoka Lake, near French Lick. Casinos were expected to raise at least $100 million in taxes per year.