Indiana’s tax revenue to suffer significant loss

An upcoming tribal casino will cause a millionaire loss on the state’s tax revenues.

US.- According to Spectrum Gaming Group (SGG), a global independent research agency, the Four Winds Casino in South Bend, Indiana, will cause a US$350 million fall on Indiana’s tax revenues in the first five years of functioning.

The report commissioned by the Casino Association of Indiana (CAI) establishes that the tribal casino will cost other casinos in the state over US$800 million in revenue by detracting its customers, and it will drop revenue from gambling taxes approximately US$280 million, as well as US$73 million in income taxes. The casino proposed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians is set to become the largest Indiana casino, and it will feature a 216,000 sq ft gaming floor and a 18 story hotel room. The studio also revealed that a reduction of US$3.8 million is expected in Local Development Agreement payments to East Chicago, Michigan City, Hammond and Gary over five years.

According to the CEO of the Casino Association of Indiana, Matt Bell, local casinos have been struggling for at least a decade due to competition with other states. He believes that a new casino will only make the the problems even worse, and that they need to create a legislation that reduces the 35 percent tax rate that casinos currently pay to the state in Indiana.