Tribe Inches Closer To New Indiana Casino

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians are planning a casino in South Bend, Indiana, and last month the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a draft of an Environmental Impact Statement for the project, which moves the plan along, nwitimes.com reported.

“This is an important first step in a lengthy process that began over two years ago,” Pokagon Band Chairman John P. Warren said in a written statement. “We are very pleased to have reached this significant milestone.”

The project, a Four Winds Casino and Hotel, could help bolster gaming revenues in the state, which have been shrinking over the past several years. According to the report, casino revenue is down about 17 percent, dropping to $2.30 billion from $2.78 billion over the past five fiscal years. Some competitors to the tribe’s proposed casino think the market might be over-saturated.

In order to secure a casino in Northwest Indiana, the tribe would need a state compact.

The proposed 3,000 slot machines would be the most for an Indiana casino.

The tribe already operates three casinos in Michigan.

Tribal casinos in the United States won $28.3 billion off of gamblers in 2013, which was a record. Though, it was an increase of just 0.5 percent year-over-year. If the trend continues, tribal gaming revenue in the country will soon be moving in the wrong direction.

In 2013, there were 244 Native American tribes operating more than 353,000 gaming machines and 7,700 table games in 479 gaming facilities across 28 states.

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