Voters in three northeast Indiana counties have the rare chance to directly decide the fate of a potential $500 million development with a question waiting near the end of their ballots.
“Shall inland casino gambling be permitted in (your) county?” is Public Question No. 3 on the ballots of Allen, DeKalb and Steuben county voters, after questions on bail and judge residency.
Groups mobilizing to sway their votes for or against the casino possibility disagree on whether one will bring growth or decay.
“We’ve been on a really, really nice run for about eight to 10 years,” said Tom Borne, a retired advertising executive involved with Advance Fort Wayne Allen County’s “Yes for Allen” initiative.
“If we can’t find ways to generate additional revenue to keep this moving, then … we can take the little bites out of the apple,” he continued. “But I’m of the philosophy: let’s take a big bite of the apple, and keep this coming through and making our community even better and stronger.”
Others point to potential costs.
“The casino industry is predatory in nature,” said Kristen Bissontz, vice president of the Coalition for a Better Indiana’s volunteer board. The grassroots group is pushing a “No casiNO” campaign.
The industry, Bissontz added, “preys on the most vulnerable and the weakest and the ones that really can’t afford (it). … It’s a bad bet because the house always wins.”
Failing casino kicks off license relocation turned addition
House Enrolled Act 1038, approved earlier this year, authorizes a new license for an inland casino in one of the three northeast counties and knocks off one unused “racino” license for horse-racing wagering with slot machines.
If voters in a county agree to allow a casino, prospective developers can submit their applications for that specific county to the Indiana Gaming Commission by Dec. 1. If they reject the casino idea, the law provides, “a second public question under this section may not be held in that county.”
Whichever developer is selected would be required to invest at least $500 million across the prospective casino and non-gambling amenities, with at least 60% spent within two years of the license authorization. The rest must be invested — and the development completed — within five years of when operations begin.
They’d also pay a fee to the state: $100 million for the license and $50 million to support former host communities hurt by casino closures. Additional payments to the host community or state could be part of the deal, too.
Lawmakers initially attempted to set up a process for relocating Indiana’s worst-performing casino from Rising Sun, located along the Ohio River, without establishing a new casino license.
The final version, however, leaves that casino in place. Ohio County and Rising Sun officials raised concerns about how their local governments could be compensated if the community lost the casino that is its largest employer and taxpayer.
Rising Star generates about $42 million a year in gross revenue and paid $3.6 million in state gaming taxes last year. A 2025 Indiana Gaming Commission study projected that an Allen County casino could generate $204 million in revenue and $61 million in annual state taxes. Steuben County Economic Development Corp. released a feasibility study in April with its own case for a casino there.
Supporters hope to boost economy, replace lost revenue
Steve Corona is the Fort Wayne Community Schools’ Board of Trustees longest-serving member at 46 years and counting. When Borne and other businesspeople approached him for marketing help on the “Yes for Allen” campaign, he initially told them he might be the “wrong guy.”
“I don’t gamble and I don’t like Las Vegas,” Corona said.
Then he learned of the revenue boost a casino could bring the school district. Units of local government have taken in less property tax revenue under 2025’s controversial Senate Enrolled Act 1 than they otherwise would have.
“Our school district is just getting killed. We lost $10 million last year. We’re losing $11 million — yeah, I mean, we’re the largest district in the state, and we are getting our (butt) kicked,” Corona said.
Borne is also agnostic on commercial gambling.
“I’m not here to say they’re right or wrong, quite frankly,” he said of opponents. “… I’m not a person that goes to casinos, but I am a person who likes to see growth, and I’m a person who likes to see jobs.”
His organization estimates the development will require about 5,500 temporary construction jobs and an additional 2,000 jobs to run the place. Casino foes contest those figures, but Borne shrugged them off: “I guess there’s always ways to shoot holes through any numbers, but nobody has a better answer.”
The campaign is supported by the Greater Fort Wayne chamber of commerce, the business “community” and several labor unions. It has advertised through TV, social media, mailers and even a text campaign.
Asked how much money the group had spent, Borne said, “The only way I can answer that … is I’m always looking for more.”
In Steuben County, a “privately funded group of citizens” have joined forces with the county’s government, economic development agency and tourism bureau to launch the Where Fun Wins political action committee, according to the group’s website. The PAC was unable to accommodate an interview before deadline.
Opponents warn of consequences
While some state lawmakers representing the area led the state legislative charge to bring northeast Indiana into the casino discussion, others voted against it. The issue has risen to Indiana’s congressional delegation as well, with Third District Rep. Marlin Stutzman speaking in opposition last week.
“While many enjoy gambling as entertainment, several of our neighbors will eventually fall victim to the proposed casino as it seeks to generate profit off the backs of hard-working Hoosiers,” Stutzman said in a news release. “Business development is a top priority of mine, but gambling is the opposite.”
“Expanding addictive gaming into our untapped territory will upset the favorable economic development our community has fostered,” he added. “The values Hoosiers hold in Northeast Indiana simply do not align with the moral decay casinos represent.”
Bissontz fears for her neighbors.
When she first moved to Fort Wayne at 21 she didn’t really think about it being a good place to raise a family. More than three decades and a family of her own later, she wholeheartedly agrees.
A casino, to Bissontz, is “contrary to that morally.”
“The frequency of the bells and the lights and the fast pace, it’s designed to hook you in, to get you that dopamine and to keep you there until you can no longer play because you’re completely out of money,” she said.
Her coalition has sent out mailers and organized meet-and-greet forums to get that message out, supported by the small donations from similarly concerned residents and small businesses.
“I’ve literally taken a handful of tens and twenties to our bank,” Bissontz said. “Going up against a multi-billion-dollar industry, it can be intimidating. But we’ve always had the mantra of: you just do the next right thing.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
