Special Report: The State of Gambling

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Las Vegas and Atlantic City came to Indiana on an October afternoon in 1989. That day, the first scratch-off lottery ticket was sold in Indiana. Hoosiers approved the lottery the year before, the same time they said “yes” to betting at horse tracks. Two would be built, along with the much more lucrative off-track betting parlors. Seven of the satellite locations now operate throughout Indiana.

But the real high rollers, casinos, got their start in 1993, when lawmakers decided to further expand gambling in a very big way. Counties voted on whether to allow the floating riverboat casinos on either Lake Michigan or the Ohio River.

Anti-gambling forces managed to convince many to say “no,” but by late 1995, the maiden cruise of Casino Aztar in Evansville began a decade-long race to put 11 riverboat licenses into play. The final license went to landlocked Orange County, where a casino between two historic hotels was plunked down in a moat so it would look like a boat.

Today, the staggering growth in gambling means that only a few people in Indiana live more than 50 miles from a casino, a horse track or an off-track betting parlor.

The roads of several Indiana communities would be paved with gold, casino supporters promised. Still today, others wonder if it was fool's gold.

"Some people were not really pro-gaming or really anti-gaming," remembers Kathy Kalb, a reporter with the newspaper in Orange County. "But they wanted to see jobs come to Springs Valley.”

Orange County fought long and hard for the last casino. The people voted nearly two-to-one in favor. Two resort hotels were renovated. At the time, much was expected. There were promises of a lot of new development off-site. A drive -in restaurant was one of the few new businesses. It's already closed.

"Casinos build a casino at, or near, a large population center and there's nobody that lives around here," said Jerry Denbo, a former lawmaker who was key in locating a casino in Orange County.

"It's difficult to get here because of the roads, so we've always known we need those attractions, we need the shops, the different tourist attractions, but they're just not coming," he said.

But gamblers keep coming, even though most know the odds are stacked against them.

"We think that we're going to come in here and win big, so we might get lucky and walk out of here with something," said Todd Jones, a poker player from Elwood. "But in actuality, there's a process. These machines ain't set like that. You're going to lose and the house is going to win."

Methodist minister Dan Gangler, a gambling opponent, said, "Gambling is very destructive for some families. Economically, it can really ruin a family.”

But even Rev. Gangler understands why Indiana got into the gambling business -- easy money for state government that gets a quarter of each dollar that's gambled.

Casino lobbyists estimate Indiana is fourth behind only Nevada, New Jersey and Mississippi in revenue brought in. In gaming taxes coming back to the state -- $819 million in the last fiscal year -- Indiana ranks first, even more than Nevada.

"I don't think anybody thought that it would be as successful as it's been," said Mike Smith of the Casino Association of Indiana, which lobbies for casinos at the Indiana Statehouse.

Since opening, casinos have had to convince us they're not a haven for crime or corruption. Smith knows that.

"The bad, the evil things that people predicted might come with the casino industry, simply didn't materialize," said Smith.

And gambling kept growing. After years of debate, in 2002, the General Assembly bowed to the economic pressure from riverboats in Illinois that didn't cruise. Indiana's boats were docked. Gamblers could now come and go as they pleased.

Then, there was more expansion. In 2007, the legislature approved electronic slot machines for new casinos built at Indiana's horse tracks. Each track had to pay the state $250 million for the right to add them.

Now, with the 2009 recession, tax dollars from casinos are receding. Last year, the total dropped for the first time. As lawmakers consider how to shore up budgets if tax revenue keeps dropping, they are still talking of putting a casino in downtown Indianapolis.

Existing Indiana casinos wouldn't want the competition an Indianapolis casino would bring. There's also a worry about Kentucky and Ohio approving casino gambling. Illinois and Michigan already have it.

Check out the interactive timeline detailing the 20-year history of legalized gambling in Indiana.

In an upcoming report, Karen Hensel looks at the human toll gambling has taken in Indiana. The state of Indiana isn't just a compulsive gambler, many Hoosiers are too. Stay tuned.