Indiana iGaming Update

Administrative Rules Review Task Force meets 10/5, and is expected to hear testimony relating to the Gaming Commission’s regulatory fines and rule writing practices. During a meeting of this Task Force on 9/22, Sen. Garten and Rep. Bartels began to announce significant criticism of the Gaming Commission’s regulatory activities. Any legislative attention being paid to the Gaming Commission and the industry as a whole should be monitored for potential impact on other gaming related legislative efforts.

The General Election is 11/8. As referenced in prior weeks, the aftermath of Indiana’s abortion legislation / special session may play a material role in the general election. We will be monitoring those races and how they may impact the igaming efforts.

As referenced in prior weeks, the next time that the legislature will officially convene will be in November for Organization Day. Although a specific date has not yet been announced, this will “technically” mark the commencement of the legislative session. The House and Senate will adjourn on that date and reconvene at the beginning of January for the official commencement of the 2023 legislative session.

Bills for the 2023 session will start to be filed around and shortly after organization day.

The Budget Committee will convene  in mid-December to consider an updated revenue forecast which will serve as guidance for the upcoming budget session.

We had several communications with key legislators and staff regarding the series of igaming webinars hosted by GeoComply and iDEA. Of note is that Rep. Smaltz expressed thanks for the invitation and indicated an intent to participate. We sent a thank you and an invitation to meet / discuss igaming soon.

Last Friday, Speaker Huston announced that Rep. Jeff Thompson will be the new Ways & Means chair. As reference in prior emails to you, Rep. Thompson is considered very conservative and voted against the sports wagering bill in 2019 and has a track record for voting against all gaming bills. Notwithstanding his personal views, we do not expect that he will be one to block a bill and/or supersede the Speaker’s public policy objectives when it comes to igaming.

Additional near term follow-up opportunities include:

• • Consider efforts to meet with Rep. Thompson to at least educate him on the fiscal impact of igaming. Consider doing this meeting with Rep. Manning
  • Encourage / invite strong participation at NCLGS conference by Indiana legislators (including Rep. Manning… who we have already invited and begun discussing)
  • Arranging a meeting (virtual or in-person) between Sen. Bray and the Michigan Senate Majority Leader
  • Working with Sen. Ford and Rep. Manning to finalize draft legislation + make specific plans for officially filing the bill as early as possible (potentially as soon as November)
  • Working with Rep. Manning to attempt to secure a more definitive commitment from Speaker Huston to compel Rep. Smaltz to hear the legislation in committee (and add Rep. Thompson to that list as well)
  • Consider efforts to meet directly with Rep. Smaltz in an effort to have him identify specific concerns / determine if they can be addressed with additional information
  • Consider more formal outreach to Sen. Ryan Mishler (and Senate fiscal staff) to emphasize the fiscal benefits of igaming revenue (Sen. Mishler is Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and arguably the biggest fiscal “hawk” in the legislature who has no trouble taking the position that a $6 billion surplus is not sufficient).
  • We will continue to gather information regarding potential efforts (and legislator support) for authorization of VGTs in bars & taverns and/or charities and fraternal organizations in order to better understand potential impact on igaming legislation.
  • Monitor upcoming meetings of the Administrative Rules Review Task Force to gauge the legislature’s analysis of gaming related / regulatory issues