Indiana Horse Racing and Breeding Coalition
www.hoosiersforhorses.org
Indianapolis Star
March 30, 2007
Lawmakers' Jackpot Just a Hoofbeat Away?
Senate's OK on slots at horse tracks has some already thinking about how they'd spend the riches.
By Karen Eschbacher
With Indiana closer than ever to allowing slot machines somewhere other than riverboat casinos,
lawmakers are already considering how to spend the millions of dollars the games would generate.
The Senate voted 27-21 Thursday to allow 1,500 slots at each of the state’s two horse racing tracks.
Hoosier Park in Madison County and Indiana Downs in Shelby County would each pay the state a $400 million
license fee and millions a year in wagering taxes.
The House has approved a version of the legislation, House Bill 1835.
“Both chambers have said, ‘Yes, we are prepared to expand gambling in Indiana by putting slots
at the track,’ “ said Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, the bill’s author. “The second
question is, ‘If we say yes, what do we do with the revenue?’ So now is really the time to address that issue.”
In addition to the license fee, the Senate version of the bill calls for a graduated wagering tax of up to 35
percent of revenue. The tax would generate $63.3 million in fiscal 2009 and $87.5 million in 2010, according
to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.
Sen. Luke Kenley, the Noblesville Republican who chairs the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, voted against
the bill but told colleagues afterward that he intends “to dedicate every bit of the funds out of this process
to property tax relief.”
Residential property tax bills are expected to rise an average of nearly 15 percent statewide this year.
Van Haaften agreed that property tax relief is important but said he thinks some money should be directed toward
funding health insurance—another major issue this session.
Gov. Mitch Daniels is seeking at least a 25-cent increase in Indiana’s 55.5-cents-per-pack cigarette tax in
order to fund health initiatives, including health insurance for some of the estimated 850,000 Hoosiers who lack
coverage.
However, a bill raising that cigarette tax died in the House, and the Senate passed Daniels’ health plan
with no funding mechanism. Attempts to revive the cigarette tax are caught up in partisan wrangling between
the two chambers, leaving the funding for health insurance in doubt.
Exactly how cash from slots would be spent would be decided as part of the overall budget process, or
earmarks could be added to bills.
While slots aren’t a done deal, Thursday’s vote was significant because previous attempts to allow
slot machines have faced tough opposition in the Senate, where leaders have at times not let the issue come to a vote.
Kenley encouraged representatives in the House to accept changes made to the bill in the Senate. Otherwise, lawmakers
must gamble by sending the bill to a conference committee, where they will try to iron out differences. There,
the bill could die, be gutted or have outside issues attached to it.
The House version would have allowed more machines at each track for a lower licensing fee and a
different tax rate. It also would have given counties that don’t have riverboats a cut of the tax revenue.
Van Haaften said he has to review the changes before deciding what to do.
It is unclear what Daniels will do if the bill lands on his desk. He has said he is opposed to
the expansion of gambling but has not said whether he considers this an expansion.
Spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said Thursday the governor had no comment.
The issue generated about an hour of debate in the Senate on Thursday, most of it centered
on whether the extra cash was a worthwhile tradeoff for more gambling.
Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis, said it is not.
“The only way we win is Hoosiers have to lose,” he said. “Is that the way we want
to run our government?”
Proponents, however, said the bill would help the dying horse-racing industry and give the state a boost.
“Think of the good things,” said Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, the former LaPorte County sheriff who
was recently chosen to fill the seat of the late Sen. Anita Bowser. “Gambling is a way of life.
It’s here. . . . Let’s use it to our advantage.”
Almost all of the Democrats voted for the bill, while the majority of Republicans voted against it.
DEFEAT AFTER DEFEAT
The history of bills proposing slot machines or pull-tabs at racetracks:
• 2001: House Bill 1729 passed the House 57-43. It died in the Senate Committee on Rules and Legislative Procedure.
• 2002: Senate Bill 333 passed the Senate 27-23 and passed the House 55-43. It went to a conference committee, where an agreement could not be worked out.