Am I wrong to believe that gambling is gambling? Drive to a riverboat or sit down at my desk and wager on the pacers? WTH is the problem? Cannot even find a GA meeting around here, so the worry must not be to big about compulsive gambling.
Can we tackle compulsive gambling by adding another casino and harness track anyhow?.
Really, I know though. They are so afraid of that 2% of the population here that may actually make money gambling without giving up a little. What a COS.
Oh yeah, Evan told me he was worried about the fact that some offshore sportsbooks may be rogue. Well, whistle me dixie, isn't the damn Govt a little rogue also in handling constitutional rights these days?
Whatever.
Can we tackle compulsive gambling by adding another casino and harness track anyhow?.
Really, I know though. They are so afraid of that 2% of the population here that may actually make money gambling without giving up a little. What a COS.
Oh yeah, Evan told me he was worried about the fact that some offshore sportsbooks may be rogue. Well, whistle me dixie, isn't the damn Govt a little rogue also in handling constitutional rights these days?
Whatever.
General, it almost made me laugh when I read some of the bills they were proposing there. One was going to give the Colts like $40 million. You can't even build the parking lots with $40 million, who were they kidding?
Indiana has a ton of gambling bills on the docket, as they do in most years. Almost none ever go through. Only thing they will accomplish is maybe the stupid bans on internet you fear and tax increases on the casinos. All the other stuff has little or no chance I am told by our area lobbyist.
Indiana has a ton of gambling bills on the docket, as they do in most years. Almost none ever go through. Only thing they will accomplish is maybe the stupid bans on internet you fear and tax increases on the casinos. All the other stuff has little or no chance I am told by our area lobbyist.
You see General, here is the thing. No one really cares either way. That is the truth with the internet bans everywhere they get proposed. Easy for us all to get worked up about them because they hit so close to home, but to the average American they don't give two shits about the legality of it. Most people don't care to do it so they don't care either way. Banning the activity earns very few votes for or against a candidate. Passage usually comes down to how the bills are written, how they get amended, and which industries end up on which side of the rules. The one in Indiana looks like it could pass simply because it is written in a way that only ISPs might care. Still my lobbyist contact says beneath their breath, lawmakers are saying this is a token bill they highly doubt ever gets enforced and just could be a sap to the legalized industry there.
So where does that leave us? It makes it a low priority for politicians, but if they need it as a favor to a campaign donor or to burnish credentials with some demographic of voter, they find few fellow politicians blocking them from doing it...at least at the state level. At the national level it is different, very different. Thankfully for that they have never been able to pass all these proposed bills and may never be able to do it.
So where does that leave us? It makes it a low priority for politicians, but if they need it as a favor to a campaign donor or to burnish credentials with some demographic of voter, they find few fellow politicians blocking them from doing it...at least at the state level. At the national level it is different, very different. Thankfully for that they have never been able to pass all these proposed bills and may never be able to do it.
As part of a deal to keep the Colts playing in Indianapolis for 30 more years, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson wants to build a $500 million stadium in Downtown Indianapolis. He asked the legislature to use new gambling revenue to generate $46 million a year to pay for the project, but that idea met with resistance.
A gambling bill that might have provided the revenue was defeated in committee and a key committee chairman declared that Marion County should carry more of the financial burden for a stadium.
indystar.com
A gambling bill that might have provided the revenue was defeated in committee and a key committee chairman declared that Marion County should carry more of the financial burden for a stadium.
indystar.com
