State lawmakers in Indiana have agreed to allow existing casinos to move their gaming activity to land and now the proposal will move forward for Governor Mike Pence to make the final decision. Despite agreeing that land gaming should be allowed, lawmakers did not approve a proposal that would allow live dealer gaming to be placed at the two racinos of the state. The idea of live dealer gaming may not come to fruition in the state for several years based on the outcome of yesterday’s vote.

The land based gaming deal will now have to be approved by the Governor to come into law.  36 Senate members and 75 House members approved the bill but it is unclear if Governor Mike Pence will be signing. Legislators of the state were in a hot debate to close the two issues, land based gaming and live dealer options.

The riverboat casinos was a no-brainer but the live dealer discussion is much more split and the Governor is one such opponent of the option. This however should increase the chance that the bill for land based gaming will be signed into law, since live dealer table gaming is essentially off the table until 2021 when Pence is no longer in office.

The House Public Policy Committee Chairman, Tom Dermody, stated that House Bill 1540 will see casinos waiting six years before another application can be submitted to offer live dealer gaming. Electronic games and slot machines are the only option currently available at gaming establishments.