Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Wednesday, April 29, 2015
(STATHEOUSE) - Whether to allow live dealers at Indiana’s two racetrack casinos is the last hurdle confronting casino legislation as the General Assembly session winds down.
House and Senate versions of the bill put off live dealers until 2021, to give Indiana's Ohio River casinos time to adjust to the increased competition and to push the issue until the end of a potential second term for Governor Pence. But both those proposals would have required Hoosier Park and Indiana Live to ask the Indiana Gaming Commission for final approval.
House Speaker Brian Bosma says a first attempt at a final bill removed that final checkpoint. He says that's a dealbreaker for both him and Pence.
There's agreement on the bill's other provisions, including changes to gaming taxes and permission for riverboat casinos to move the gaming floor onto land. But Bosma cautions changing one piece of any gambling bill affects everything else.
Legislators have until midnight Wednesday to pass a bill.
Pence has declined to say publicly whether he'd oppose live table games at the racinos, saying only that he's against any expansion of gambling. But legislative leaders say the governor has told them he opposes live dealers.
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