The Four Winds Casino at South Bend operated by the Pokagon Band Native American tribe will soon be allowed to expand its gambling offering thanks to a newly inked tribal-state compact.
On Thursday, Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Matthew Wesaw, the chairman of Indiana’s Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians announced that they had successfully negotiated a tribal-state gaming compact that would allow the Native American tribe to start offering Class III games in their Four Winds South Bend casino property. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi forwarded the gaming compact request to Gov. Holcomb nearly 18 months ago on 13th August 2019 and it looks like it's going to bear fruition soon thanks to this new announcement.
Per state law, what remains of the tribal-state compact is going through the public legislative process where the negotiating sides will explain the specifics of the agreement. To begin the ratification process, the compact has been forwarded to the President Pro Tem Rodric Bray and Speaker of the House Todd Huston. After getting an okay from the state legislature, the tribal compact will take effect after getting the final approval from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The US Secretary of the Interior position is currently occupied by Scott de la Vega in an acting capacity until Deb Haaland, President Biden’s new nominee is confirmed.
The two negotiating teams released a joint press statement upon the agreement saying that;
Quote“This compact was executed in accordance with state law and federal law and obligations and recognizes the sovereign rights of both the State of Indiana and the Pokagon Band. It demonstrates the value of our ongoing government-to-government relationship and the commitment of each party to fulfill their responsibilities to their citizens while working cooperatively to comply with all applicable laws.”
What Will Change for the Four Winds Tribal Casino in South Bend?
Should things go as planned, the Four Winds South Bend Casino operated by the Pokagon Band will get a lot more exciting for its patrons. Since the gaming establishment launched its operations back in January 2018, it has been operating under a Class II license by the said tribe, per the gaming compact it negotiated with the state at that time. This license only allowed Four Winds Casino, the only tribal operated casino in the Hoosier State, to offer bingo, pull-tab games, and poker.
If the newly negotiated tribal-state gaming compact survives the approval process, the Four Winds property will effectively be bumped up in stature from a Class II gaming facility to a Class III venue. When it becomes a Class III gaming venue, the Pokagon Band operated casino will be allowed to start offering table games, slot machines, and even sports betting and daily fantasy sports.
The table games in question here comprise the likes of roulette, baccarat, craps, banked poker, big six wheels, and blackjack, games that are already available in Indiana’s commercial casino properties. For sports betting and daily fantasy sports, however, it is important to note that the activity will only be authorized to take place within the 166 acres of tribal reservation land that federally belongs to the Pokagon Band. Thus, any sports betting and DFS operations by Four Winds cannot extend outside the stipulated geographical region whether mobile, online.
What Else is in the Newly Negotiated Tribal-State Compact?
The other significant part of the new compact is taxation. A 10% tax rate paid to the set has been set on the revenue accrued from the gaming and another 8% will be collected from the net win from all the slot machines in the venue. Additionally, the City of South Bend will continue receiving the 2% share it has been getting from the previous compact.
From what the state will be collecting from expanded gaming, $1 million will be set aside and channeled to a fund that will enable members of the Pokagon Band of Indians to go to community colleges, public universities, and technical training centers in the Hoosier State.
This newly inked tribe-state compact also introduces an exclusive agreement that gives the state mandate to prevent the establishment of any other gambling venue within a radius of 50 miles from the Pokagon Band Four Winds Casino property. One of the other interesting components of this Class III upgrade compact between the Pokagon Band and the Hoosier State is that it allows the casino to withhold jackpot payouts from players who haven’t paid their legal obligations for child support!
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