Indiana Casino License Relocation Bill Passes State House

^{Lawmakers at the Indiana State House approved House Bill 1038, helping to facilitate the relocation of a casino license currently tied to the Rising Star Casino. (Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum / Alamy)}

The Indiana House voted in favor of a bill that will allow the relocation of the license currently tied to the Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, moving the possibility of competitive bidding for a new casino in the state one step closer.

The House voted 67-30 on Monday in favor of the legislation, known as House Bill 1038, which allows four counties to potentially host a new casino using the existing license.

Rising Star Casino Seeks New Home

The counties include Allen, DeKalb, and Steuben Counties, all of which are in the Fort Wayne area, as well as Wayne County in eastern Indiana.

The license relocation has been in the works for some time now, as the Rising Star Casino has pulled in the least revenue of any gaming venue in Indiana. Full House Resorts, which owns and operates the Rising Star, has been seeking to relocate its license ever since casinos opened in Ohio and Kentucky, cutting into its revenues.

However, the House bill does not guarantee that Full House will be able to take advantage of this relocation. Under the legislation, any operator of one of the 13 Indiana commercial casinos may submit a bid for the license transfer, with the winner ultimately taking the license and operating the new venue.

At the same time, that operator would have to work with local officials to find a site and build the new casino. Both the city mayor and the board of county commissioners must sign off on any casino proposal, and counties have the right (though not a requirement) to hold a local voter referendum to approve these projects.

The Indiana Gaming Commission will be required to pick the operator to control the license by April 15, 2027. The winner will be required to pay $50 million in fees to the state over five years, as well as another $30 million to the city of Rising Sun and Ohio County in compensation for losing a casino and the associated tax revenue. 

Should Full House fail to retain the license in the bidding process, the company that wins must also pay Full House the fair market value of the Rising Star Casino.

Senate Appears Likely to Support Casino Relocation

The new bill appears to have a strong chance of passage in the Indiana Senate as well. While that body failed to vote on a bill that would have specifically relocated the license to Allen County, lawmakers saw that the Senate was likely to support the newly passed House legislation.

“There continues to be support, I think, building for the idea of some option to move a casino up into northeast Indiana,” Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Morgan County) told reporters. “So, I look optimistically at the movement of that bill.”

One reason for momentum for the casino relocation pan was a study released by the Indiana Gaming Commission in October. That research, conducted by Spectrum Gaming, found that while Indianapolis would be the location that would generate the most revenue for a new casino, that location would also cannibalize revenue from casinos in Anderson and Shelbyville. Meanwhile, northeast Indiana would bring in the second-most revenue, but would compete against casinos in Ohio and Michigan rather than other venues in the state.

According to Bray, the final legislation may not be exactly what the House has passed, but will likely be similar in its final form.

“We’ve had some conversations between the House and the Senate about what that ultimately might look like,” Bray told reporters. “I would say the chances of having some movement there are pretty good.”