It’s official. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) has affixed his signature to a bill that will expand gambling in the Hoosier State by approving two new casinos and permitting sports betting, expected to take off by September. (All-
important mobile betting is approved in the legislation.) Acknowledging competition from neighboring states, Holcomb said, “By modernizing our laws, this legislation will spur positive economic growth for our state and for an industry that employs over 11,000 Hoosiers. Additionally, it will bring in new revenue and create hundreds of new jobs—both permanent and in construction.” The state Senate prevailed on the issue of mobile betting, saying that to do otherwise would be “unreasonable.” I don’t know about that but you’d make a hell of a lot less money. An additional spur to sports betting will be the NCAA‘s abolition of a previous policy that kept championship events out of states with sports betting, a stance that fast-moving events were quickly rendering obsolete.
Perhaps informed by the erroneous revenue assumptions that have upended other states, Holcomb’s administration is expecting only $12 million in sports-betting receipts, derived from a 9.5% tax rate. Other winners were Caesars Entertainment, which gets table games at its two racinos, Spectacle Entertainment, which trades in its two Majestic Star-branded boats for a casino project on land near Interstate 80-94, and Terre Haute, which potentially becomes the state’s newest casino market. The voters of Vigo County still have to sign off on that last item and any moves toward the county by Spectacle will come under intense scrutiny, now that the company has been revealed to schlepped Holcomb around on company aircraft and juiced a Vigo County contract into the law firm of Speaker of the House Brian Bosma (R). Expect rival casino companies to make hay of that when Spectacle makes a play for Terre Haute.
* Could we see discussion of point spreads during Fox Sports‘ broadcasts of NFL games? Will sports-weeble Jay Glazer be reporting how injuries move 
the line on NFL tilts? Probably, now that the giant network has bought 5% of Stars Group. This is said to be the first tie-up between the gaming industry and a U.S. broadcaster. Reports TheDrum.com “Now the broadcaster looks to be buying into gambling and will likely use its network and sports content to cross-promote gambling across its properties.” Fox also holds an option to buy half of Star Group’s U.S. equity in 2029. Said Stars Group CEO Rafi Ashkenazi, “Leveraging our proven media partnership strategy with Sky Sports in the UK, we are excited to partner with Fox Sports to integrate wagering into sports media and drive customer acquisition and retention in the U.S.”
* MGM Resorts International could find itself on the outside looking in on CEO Jim Murren‘s hometown of Bridgeport. Seems that new Gov. Ned Lamont (D) has switched the state’s allegiance from MGM to its tribes and is looking to broker a tribal casino in Bridgeport. Lamont probably prefers the $250 million bird in the hand that is the tribal exclusivity over the unnumbered birds in the MGM bush. “Together we’ve had a very strong bond and contract going back well over a generation,” Lamont told the New Haven Register. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that contract stays intact. We are working together going forward.” Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Rodney Butler was singing from the same hymnal: “We looked at Bridgeport 20 years ago back in 1996, we actually won that bid. So if it makes financial sense for us in the state, we’d certainly consider that as an option.”
Lamont hopes to please the tribes and MGM alike, a feat that would tax the skills of a Cirque du Soleil contortionist. He must also deal with skeptics like state Rep. Chris Rosario (D), who grumbled, “A job is a job for the people of the city of Bridgeport, no matter where it is coming from. But with that said, we’ve been steadfast. MGM has a commitment to Steel Point. They’ve been committed to the city of Bridgeport and although the tribes have been committed to the state of Connecticut and the city of Bridgeport through the Pequot fund, they haven’t really had a presence in the city up until recently with their agreement with the arena and even that has kind of underwhelmed.” Anyway, with gaming legislation stymied in the Connecticut Lege, this discussion appears to be moot for the time being.
