Indiana Governor Mike Pence last month allowed HB 1540 to become law without signing it, which could help the state’s 11 casinos compete against the increasing number of gaming options in surrounding states, including thousands of video gaming terminals in Illinois and the threat of a potential Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians casino in South Bend.
House Speaker Brian Bosma said the sticking point in the bill never was moving riverboat casinos to land. “Coming onto land for the boats, we were all in consensus on that as not being an expansion, including the governor, in the way it was done,” Bosma said.
Pence, however, had indicated he considered allowing live dealers at the state’s two racinos to be expanded gambling, which he would veto. As a result, the final version of the bill sent to Pence moves allowing live dealers to 2021, after Pence would leave office providing he wins a second term.
Meanwhile, Pence vetoed a bill that would have permitted online betting on horse races run at the two Indiana tracks.
