Four Winds Casino in Indiana will expand gambling offerings
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, which operates the Four Winds Casino in South Bend, has signed a new gambling contract with Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb. The new agreement would allow the casino to offer table games, slot machine games and sports betting.
State and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians sign new Gaming Compact
Four Winds Casino in South Bend, Indiana was operated by Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians for the past three years as a Class II gaming venue. Since the venue opened in January 2018, it has offered poker, pull-tab games and bingo. However, that could soon change, as on Thursday Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb i Pokagon chairman Matthew Wesaw signed new Tribal-State games contract, which changed the class of the place to Class III.
The new pact will go into effect after state approval and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. When that happens, as a Class III venue, Four Winds Casino will be able to offer gaming machines, table games as well as sports betting.
Table games would include blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette, which can already be found in commercial casinos in the state. On the other hand, sports betting would be limited to 166 acres of federally recognized tribal land Pokagon Band in South Bend.
The gaming agreement sets out the taxation and exclusivity agreement
The new gambling agreement took more than a year of negotiations between the state and tribal representatives. In addition to expanding gambling operations at Four Winds Casino, the agreement sets the tax rate at 10% on winnings from slot machines. The State of Indiana would receive 8% of this tax and 2% would go to the City of South Bend.
Recent the agreement shall establish an exclusive contract for the state not to allow the creation of another gambling place within a 50-mile radius of Four Winds Casino. It was also agreed that individuals who are currently participating in gambling exclusion programs in the state should not receive any marketing materials from the casino. Furthermore, the tribe and the state agreed that individuals who fail to pay their legal maintenance obligation will have their jackpot winnings withheld.
In addition to the gambling expansion, Pokagon Band is also currently developing its South Bend property . The expansion began in September 2019. I plans to include a 23-story hotel tower with more than 300 hotel rooms. In addition, the tribe plans to expansion of the estate by adding a congress centre. The Pokagon Band has planned to complete the facility expansion and welcome its first guests by September of this year.
