House committee passes amended gambling bill

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001 | 6:19 a.m.

Hundreds of people filled a ballroom at the Indiana Convention Center as the House Public Policy Committee heard eight hours of testimony about allowing riverboat casinos to remain moored rather than make regularly scheduled cruises.

Committee members endorsed the proposal 11-3, but many prefaced their votes by saying they might still oppose the final bill if it is significantly changed later in the legislative session.

Several members said they had reservations about the bill's many amendments, but they passed the measure to allow for more debate by other lawmakers.

The proposal goes now to the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee. That committee's chairman, B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, has said he could consider dockside gambling but only if it included an increase in taxes on casinos.

Proponents of the measure - including casino executives and lawmakers with casinos in their districts - praised riverboat gambling for providing jobs and strengthening local economies.

They said dockside gambling would allow Indiana casinos - and the cities they support - to remain prosperous.

"We have seen great improvements in our community. We have a new sense of hope," said Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City.

The Casino Association of Indiana says converting to dockside gambling would allow Indiana casinos to compete more effectively with casinos in Illinois, which lets riverboats remain docked.

The association says the move would generate $328 million more in admissions and gambling tax revenue over the next two years.

The bill also would allow larger casino barges on Lake Michigan but prohibit them on the Ohio River. Some lawmakers say Chicago-area casinos create a more competitive market for northwest Indiana riverboats than that faced by casinos in southern Indiana.

A crowd of about 600 people filled a ballroom at the Indiana Convention Center to offer testimony. Many were riverboat employees dressed in their casino uniforms.

Opponents spoke out as well, arguing that dockside gambling amounted to an expansion of gambling and would open the door to land-based casinos.

"Enough is enough. Stop promoting legalized larceny on our citizens," said John Wolf, a retired minister and coordinator of Indiana Citizens Against Legalized Gambling.

"When do we understand that the winnings of the casinos are the losses of people?" Wolf said.

About 70 Orange County residents arrived wearing orange shirts emblazoned with: "Save French Lick and West Baden. We need jobs, we need your help."

Rep. Jerry Denbo, D-French Lick, successfully sought two amendments that could bring Orange County off-track betting, electronic pull-tabs and the state's 11th riverboat license. That license was initially approved in 1993 but plans for a riverboat on Patoka Lake were put on hold when the federal government, which controls the lake, would not permit a casino.

The bill also includes a package of reforms designed to address compulsive gambling by allowing problem gamblers to voluntarily place their names on a list of people who are barred from boarding casinos.