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Noon Edition

Gaming in Indiana

Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.

Gaming is set to be an important topic of debate during the 2019 legislative session.

There are four proposals pertaining to the regulation of gaming and gambling in Indiana.

Sports wagering will take center stage as lawmakers decide whether to allow sports betting through the internet or to limit it to existing casinos.

This comes as the new owners of two Gary, Indiana casinos are looking to move operations, with one casino possibly going to Terre Haute.

Join us this week on Noon Edition as we discuss the state of gaming in Indiana in 2019.

Guests

Matt Bell, President & CEO of Casino Association of Indiana

Alan Morrison, State Representative for District 42 (R-Terre Haute)

Ed Feigenbaum, Statehouse Dispatch columnist with the Indiana Business Journal and publisher of Indiana Gaming Insight

Conversation

Matt Bell says that the policies regarding sports wagering on the table this legislative session won't prompt a massive increase in casino profits, but will drive traffic to Hoosier casinos and their suite of amenities.

"The revenue bump, as Rep. Morrison shared for the state, isn't massive, but it is an important way for us to attract customers who may not have been on our properties to our wonderful facilities in Indiana," Bell says. "It gives them an opportunity to go and enjoy a game, see the other amenities that are there, might encourage them to see a show at our facilities, try our restaurants, and perhaps try a gaming floor they might not have come in to try."

Ed Feigenbaum thinks that this legislative session will show where our lawmakers stand in terms of gaming in Indiana.

"I think what you need to watch for this year is to see to what extent there's an appetite for real change and real expansion," Feigenbaum says. "The governor isn't standing in the way of expansion like Mike Pence had done. This governor wants to treat casinos and horse racing tracks and other folks involved in gambling as a legitimate business and industry in this state."

Alan Morrison speaks about what a casino would mean for Terre Haute.

"The economic impact would be very significant," Morrison says. "There's a capital investment into the city and the county, there are full time jobs, there's tourism. Terre Haute, we spend a lot of time and a lot of effort on tourism into that part of the state and we have lot of reasons why people come visit us in Vigo County and this could certainly be another piece of that puzzle."

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