Fort Wayne Makes Its Case for Indiana Casino License with New Legislation

^{Two proposals are in consideration in the Indiana legislature that could help bring a casino to the Fort Wayne area of Allen Country. (Photo: Nicholas Klein / Alamy)}

A new bill in the Indiana legislature would allow for a new casino in Allen County, potentially placing one in the greater Fort Wayne area. 

The legislation, proposed by State Sen. Justin Busch (R-Fort Wayne), would allow for the Rising Star Casino’s license to be relocated from Ohio County to Allen County.

Two Bills, Two Options for a Fort Wayne Casino

Senator Busch's Senate Bill 70 is the second proposal recently introduced that would allow for a Fort Wayne casino in one form or another. House Bill 1038, introduced by Rep. Craig Snow (R-Warsaw), would instead create an 11^th casino license rather than moving an existing license.

Both approaches have support in Fort Wayne, where Mayor Sharon Tucker has said she supports bringing casino gaming to the city.

“Everyone in our community would have an opportunity to benefit from being able to have a license located in Fort Wayne,” Tucker said during testimony about House Bill 1038 on Thursday. 

Besides the ways in which the bills would award the new license, there are other slight differences between the House and Senate proposals. Senate Bill 70 would tax casino gaming revenue at 3%, compared to 3.5% in Rep. Snow’s legislation. The state would collect a $25 million relocation fee under the Senate bill, while it would get a $50 million application fee in the House version. 

Opponents to the casino were also able to speak about Sen. Busch’s proposal, saying they feared the negative social impacts a new gambling facility would bring to Fort Wayne.

“If this is all about economics, then you don’t care about increases in bankruptcies, divorces, substance abuse, mental health issues or increases in things like human trafficking,” said Cathie Humbarger, a member of the Coalition for a Better Allen County.

But Allen County Commissioner Rich Beck countered that 40% of new tax revenue from the casino would support mental health and addiction services in an effort to mitigate those negative impacts.

“If a casino is going to be in our community it will need to benefit our community in a meaningful way,” Beck said. “Addressing the issues of mental health, addiction, and homelessness is critical to our community.”

Indianapolis Also Considering Push for Casino License

Fort Wayne officials and business leaders have been pushing for a casino ever since Spectrum Gaming Group conducted a study for the state about the best potential locations for a new gaming facility in Indiana last year. A campaign known as Fort Wayne First has pushed the economic developments that would come to the city and its metro area if a new or relocated casino was placed there.

But Fort Wayne has serious competition for the license in question. While the Spectrum study found that northeastern Indiana would drive new gaming revenue, it showed that Indianapolis had the most revenue potential. 

That has led officials in Indianapolis to make their own push for a casino license, with two locations near the Indiana Convention Center being considered as potential casino sites. 

Full House Resorts, which owns the Rising Star Casino, had previously attempted to move its license to the Fort Wayne suburb of New Haven. However, a bill that would have allowed the move died in committee earlier this year.

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