State Sen. Liz Brown on Tuesday said she opposes plans that would allow a casino to operate in New Haven.
Brown, R-Fort Wayne, issued a statement less than 24 hours after another state lawmaker, Sen. Tyler Johnson, hosted a town hall meeting for New Haven residents.
Full House Resorts, Inc., which owns, leases, develops and operates gaming facilities nationwide, wants to move an existing license from the Rising Star Casino in southeastern Indiana to New Haven.
In 1993, the General Assembly legalized casino gambling and provided that the Indiana Gaming Commission would regulate and control the issuance of licenses. The law also required that casino gambling be approved by a referendum vote before a casino could be licensed to operate in local communities,” Brown, who represents the 15th district, said in an emailed statement.
“If approved, gaming taxes are imposed on the revenue generated by the casino and are deposited into the state’s General Fund. For the past several years, gaming taxes have been one of the top five revenue sources for the state,” she said. “Simply put, these casinos exist to be a revenue producing organization, not an economic development project for the community.”
Indiana lawmakers, who reconvene in January, would have to approve moving the casino operating license.
Full House has said the casino development and resort in New Haven would represent an estimated $500 million investment.
An economic impact study paid for by Full House and released this month shows the proposed casino would generate more than $80 million in annual state and local taxes and spark creation of more than 2,400 new jobs.
The proposed development has prompted numerous to comment about the casino on social media. Facebook, for example, has at least one public group with nearly 535 members with a page administrator that seems to support the plan.
Another Facebook page, “No CasiNO in New Haven,” is private and has nearly 285 members.
Brown said in her statement Tuesday that there is a cost to the community where a casino operates, but it’s not “always measured in dollars.” All the costs need to be considered when determining where the casino should be located, she said.
Even at an initial community meeting Full House hosted in late September in New Haven, some residents voiced concerns about demands in areas such as infrastructure and roads with the influx of traffic and visitors a casino development would likely attract.
“After listening to constituents and interested parties in northeast Indiana, and particularly in the New Haven area,” Brown said Tuesday, “I am opposed to a casino being located in our area.”
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