Gambling brings billions of dollars to state

Discussion

July 31, 2010

According to report, state’s casinos paid $872M in taxes in fiscal 2010

BY MAUREEN HAYDEN CNHI The News and Tribune Sat Jul 31, 2010, 07:47 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS — When Indiana lawmakers first opened the door to legalized gambling 21 years ago, they were reluctant to bet it would become a stable source of revenue for the state treasury.

But as a series of recent reports show, state and local budgets in Indiana have grown dependent on the millions of tax dollars generated by games of chance, from lottery tickets to penny slot machines. And as legalized gambling has expanded, Indiana has moved up in the ranks of total gaming revenues.

Last year, the state became the third largest gaming destination in the nation, behind Nevada and New Jersey. This week, The Associated Press reported that Indiana was No. 2, behind Pennsylvania, in taxes collected from casino gambling.

That’s been good news for local and state governments that have used the money to replace dwindling revenues from other sources. But odds are against it continuing as Indiana faces increasing competition from neighboring states, including Ohio, which legalized casino gambling in the fall.

“We’ve become addicted to gaming revenues,” said Ed Feigenbaum, editor of the Indiana Gaming Insight, the state’s leading source for news on the gambling industry.

Exactly how much money is coming into state and local governments from all sources of legalized gambling in Indiana is hard to track, given the many sources of gambling dollars coming into the state and the various agencies that keep track of it.

The Hoosier Lottery, which launched legalized gambling in 1989, reported a 17.5 percent decline in revenues in fiscal 2009. It has yet to publish its annual report for fiscal 2010.

There are numbers, though, that offer some revelation about Indiana’s legalized gambling venues — from riverboat casinos to charity bingos — that, according to Feigenbaum, grossed more than $4 billion last year alone.

For example, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s monthly reports posted online, gamblers spent $2.7 billion at the state’s 13 casino properties — including slot-machine casinos at two racetracks — in fiscal 2010, ending June 30. From that, the casinos paid more than $872 million in admission and wagering taxes.

More than $558 million of that went into the state’s general fund, according to a state’s most recent budget report. The rest of the money was divvied up among state and local entities, with more than $33 million going to Indiana county governments.

A recent issue of Indiana Gaming Insight reveals a rise in gross revenues from charity gaming — the bingos, raffles and other gambling venues conducted by churches and social organizations and regulated by state government. They reported $538 million in gross revenues in fiscal 2009, the latest year available. That’s the highest level in five years.

Another number recently released by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission: $67 million spent on “pull-tab” gambling in bars and taverns in Indiana between April 20, 2009, and April 19, 2010. Exactly how much tax revenue that’s generated for the state has yet to be published, but Feigenbaum said it will be significant.

All those numbers mean one thing, said Feigenbaum: Indiana has a gambling habit.

“For a state that went into legalized gambling with a lot of reservations,” he said, “we’ve not just accepted it, we’ve embraced it.”

— Maureen Hayden is statehouse bureau chief for CNHI’s Indiana newspapers. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Business/Money

Grants available to downtown Jeffersonville residents
“The goal of this program is to strengthen the historic core of our community and to promote ongoing economic development in Jeffersonville,” said Jay Ellis, executive director of Jeffersonville Main Street Inc.

May 28, 2012
River View gets a new option
As for progress, Bobo said he met with two banks Tuesday prior to the meeting. He added there’s been interest in financing the project from national lenders including U.S. Bank.
Additionally, Bobo said his team has meet with national investors as another source to fund the project and believes Mainland Properties could soon gain financial partners for River View.

May 23, 2012
Bridges project specifics emerging
Valentine outlined that incentives will be part of Kentucky’s contract with the winning bidder.
He explained that once construction begins, the expected cost of construction per day will total about $80,000 and the contractor can earn incentives for finishing early and penalties for finishing late. A completion date is set for June 30, 2018.

May 23, 2012
Spring Street Hill Road repair to begin around June 1
Councilman Bob Caesar, who sponsored the council measure and is a Silver Hills resident, said the reopening of Spring Street Hill road will be a “big deal” for the community.
“We just wanted to make sure this was done once and done right,” he said.

May 23, 2012 1 Photo
TARC OKs rate increases
Contrary to its monetary situation, the amount of people riding the public transit system has increased about 10 percent, Barker said.
But the transportation service had not raised its fares, aside from express routes, in four years.

May 22, 2012
Workshops on windows set for Thursday
Instructor Jack P. Patchin of Ol’ House Experts in Madison has more than 30 years of experience in construction and restoration. Patchin has restored wood windows for homes, barns, and outbuildings.

May 22, 2012
A bit less jump at the pump
Recent developments in the economic crisis in Greece and an apparent slowdown in China’s economy could be important to summer’s gasoline prices.

May 22, 2012
Jeffersonville budget cuts move forward
The action is not final, as officially the council has only approved a resolution instructing the city’s financial officer to advertise the cuts.

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
Corden Porter purchase tabled again
The council expressed other concerns, including the potential for asbestos in the building, the costs to cover utility payments and the costs to renovate the building.

May 22, 2012
Road work ahead: Projects under way in New Albany
The city earmarked about $600,000 of federal Community Development Block Grant funds to improve and install sidewalks. The project list, which has to focus on inner city areas because of CDBG regulations, is nearly finished, Rosenbarger said.

May 22, 2012
More Business/Money Headlines

Business/Money

Search Results

Discussion

Gambling brings billions of dollars to state

According to report, state’s casinos paid $872M in taxes in fiscal 2010

Site Map

Contact Us