Now that ex-Gov. Mike Pence (R) has moved on to bigger and better things, casino expansion is back on the table in Indiana. The question seems to be more one of “where” 
than “if.” Lawmakers are warming to Dan Lee‘s proposal to split Rising Sun‘s gaming inventory in half and move 50% to a new facility further upstate. The idea of relocating in Indianapolis has been ditched and legislators are now focused on the (much smaller) Terre Haute market, with the idea of drawing off players from nearby Illinois. Full House veep Alex Stoylar said, “Indianapolis is obviously a much bigger marketplace, but Terre Haute allows us to attract a lot more from Illinois, which is really the key to all of this.” Cannibalization is also a worry for other Indiana casinos, who aren’t on board with the idea, particularly Tropicana Evansville. There’s also expected to be some impact on French Lick Resort Casino as well as on the state’s two racinos.
Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) is too busy with other legislative priorities to weigh in on the issue but state Sen. Jon Ford hopes to buy the racinos’ cooperation with subsidies from Full House. These would sunset in 2021, when the tracks get table games. Since the Terre Haute casino would be operating under the auspices of Full House’s Rising Sun license, it would be as though there are still only 12 casinos in the state, although there will be 13 … at least until the Pokagon Tribe starts in earnest developing what would be Indiana’s first tribal casino.
New competition or no, Indiana casinos stand to benefit from legislation introduced by Rep. Todd Huston (R) to restructure gaming taxes. Huston’s bill would, among other things, eliminate the admission fee, which he characterized as antiquated. He would replace it, in part, with a 3% supplemental levy on adjusted gross receipts. Local governments could lose $49.5 million a year, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Calling his bill a “work in progress,” Huston said he’s open to meeting with stakeholders. He also thinks the removing the admission fee will incentivize new investment in existing facilities. Cities are, understandably, watching this warily. Or as South Shore Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Speros Batistatos said, “We have some pretty significant concerns about the initial fiscal impact.”
* The sun continues to set on Crown Resorts. It has been announced that Melco Crown Philippines is going to become Melco Resorts & Entertainment. This comes at the same time that Crown Philippines’ Todd Nisbet abruptly resigned from the company for the oft-cited “personal reasons.” The removal of Crown from Melco’s Philippine brand has given rise to speculation that it may come off Melco Crown Entertainment‘s Macao properties as well, following further sell-downs of Crown Resorts’ position in the joint venture.
* Rather than wait for regulatory action from Washington, D.C., East Coast lawmakers are pushing for Internet gambling. Although they have not yet filed an actual bill in Pennsylvania, Reps. Rosita Youngblood and George Dunbar have published a memorandum of their intent. A Christmas tree for politicians and casinos alike, its many 
provisions include the taxing of DFS and the permission of video gambling tablets in the state’s international airports (a step back from last year’s attempt to insert slot routes into airport lounges). Youngblood and Dunbar would also attempt to break the host-community-fee impasse by requiring all of the state’s casinos except Valley Forge Resort and Lady Luck Nemacolin to pay a flat $10 million. (We don’t think that will fly with the courts, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.) By broadcasting their intentions, Dunbar and Youngblood seem to be throwing a lot of legislation against a wall to see what sticks.
In New Hampshire, lawmakers aren’t ready to make the leap into actually taxing and regulating Internet gambling. However, a short bill that would decriminalize the activity has been filed in the House. “To the extent this bill legalizes a form of gambling, it may have an indeterminable impact on lottery and charitable gaming revenue,” reads the legislation, which makes you wonder why the Granite State isn’t trying to recapture some of that revenue via taxation.
