Indiana lawmakers want to control any process for approval of casinos planned on tribal lands. An amendment to House Bill 1540, allowing riverboat casinos to move onto land, would see the way gaming compacts in the state are negotiated and implemented. If the change is advanced and the bill passed into law, the governor would negotiate the compact, but would have to submit it to the General Assembly for ratification. No gambling would be allowed unless the legislators gave their approval as well. A second article of the amendment also give the General Assembly the final voice on any amendments or modifications to Tribal-State compacts.
The Pokagon Band of Pottawatomie Indians plans to build a large casino complex near the US 20 bypass of Prairie Avenue and Highway 31, in South Bend. The casino project is estimated to cost $480 million to build. The tribe has turned in an application to make the land a part of a trust which would allow for the casino to be built. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will have to determine if it is allowable.
There is opposition from locals about the casino, with the thought that it will not be a benefit to the community. A study done by the Bureau of Indian Affairs has evidence that it would benefit the community.