Indiana House Approves Measure to Relocate Rising Star Casino

On the final day the Indiana House could consider measures filed by its members, lawmakers in Indianapolis voted Monday to pass a bill that opens the door to relocate a commercial casino license to one of four counties in the eastern or northeastern corner of the state.

House Bill 1038 was the final bill heard by the House Monday evening. The bipartisan bill passed by a 67-30 vote and now moves to the Senate, which has three weeks to consider the legislation.

If it passes, HB 1038 would allow the casino license currently in Ohio County, in the southeastern corner of Indiana, to be made available to one of four counties: Allen, DeKalb, Steuben, or Wayne.

It’s aiming to modernize the license placement and foster competition among operators and communities while protecting local government and preserving gaming continuity,” said state Rep. Craig Snow (R-Winona Lake), the bill’s primary sponsor on the House floor before Monday’s vote.

The county councils in those four counties would have until June 1 to approve a resolution calling for a referendum on a casino to appear on the November general election ballot. If the referendum passes in at least one county, the Indiana Gaming Commission would consider applications for the license and select a winner no later than April 15, 2027.

The Case for Relocation

Full House Resorts currently owns and operates the Ohio County casino, the Rising Star Casino Resort in Rising Sun, an hour’s drive southwest of Cincinnati. The Las Vegas-based company has been trying for some time to relocate from what, according to commission data , is the state’s smallest casino in terms of machines and tables.

In December, the IGC’s monthly report showed Rising Star had 629 slot machines or electronic gaming devices and 16 gaming tables. Not surprisingly, the casino also produces the least revenue. It generated just $4 million in adjusted gaming revenue in December, a third less than the next-lowest casino.

As a result, Rising Star also generates the least amount of tax revenue for the state. Through the first six months of the 2025-26 fiscal year, the casino has created $1.3 million in gaming taxes. That’s less than .5% of the $283.5 million in casino and gaming taxes Indiana has received since July.

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When it first opened as the Grand Victoria Casino 30 years ago, the Rising Star was the first casino in southwestern Indiana and the tri-state area that includes Ohio and northern Kentucky. Shortly after it opened, two other casinos opened in southwestern Indiana, bookending the Rising Star. In addition, the expansion of casino gaming in Ohio and historical horse racing in Kentucky now offer gamblers in both states more convenient options.

“With the casinos that have come into place in Ohio and things like that, it just made it kind of a difficult situation for the casino in Rising Sun,” House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne), a cosponsor of the bill, said Monday on the House Floor.

Full House Not Given Exclusive Rights

The current version of HB 1038 allows any of the gaming companies currently operating in the Hoosier State to bid for the new casino. However, the stipulations currently in the bill might give pause to companies that would compete with Full House.

For starters, the bill requires a $50 million license fee to relocate the casino. That amount, payable over five years, is 2.5 times more than the relocation fee Indiana lawmakers approved in the 2019 gaming bill that allowed the Gary casino to move inland from Lake Michigan.

In addition, the bill sets the minimum required investment in the new casino at $500 million. Churchill Downs Inc. opened the state’s newest casino in Terre Haute less than two years ago and invested $290 million in developing it.

The licensee awarded the casino license also must give Ohio County and Rising Sun a one-time payment of $30, and if another company beats Full House, that operator would need to pay Full House “the fair market value” of the Ohio County license as determined by a third-party consultant.

Rising Star would continue to operate until the day before the new casino opened.

About the Eligible Counties

Fort Wayne, Indiana’s second-largest city, has been considered the primary site for the relocated casino. However, not all in the county seat of Allen County back the idea. State Rep. Chris Judy (R-Fort Wayne) told WANE-TV he voted against HB 1038 after he polled constituents in his district, which includes portions of Allen and Whitley counties. That survey showed 54% opposed the project.

Indiana first approved casino gaming more than 30 years ago, with riverboats stationed in the Ohio River along the state’s southern border and in Lake Michigan in the northwestern corner of the state. Over the years, casino gaming expanded inland with Anderson, French Lick, Shelbyville and Terre Haute opening land-based casinos. That left the northeastern corner of the state as the only region without a gaming facility.

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Two other northeastern counties may also vie for the casino license. Both DeKalb and Steuben lie to the north of Allen. While they have just a fraction of the population (Steuben 38,862, DeKalb 44,330, and Allen 399,295), they are on the same Interstate 69 corridor that connects Indiana to central Michigan. Steuben is where I-69 intersects with Interstate 80-90, the Indiana Toll Road, before it exits into Ohio.

In recent weeks, officials from Richmond in Allen County have expressed interest in pursuing a casino. Richmond is in east central Indiana, roughly an hour east of Indianapolis near the Ohio state line. Richmond’s biggest disadvantage would be that the Anderson and Shelbyville casinos, both of which are owned by Caesars Entertainment, compete for most of the same customers as the Richmond casino. Those two are also located much closer to Indiana’s largest city.