When Will Riverboat Casinos Be Allowed To Move Ashore?
Governor John Bel Edwards signed legislation allowing riverboat casinos to move up to 1,200 feet onto land from their current berth space. Executive Director of the Louisiana Casino Association Wade Duty says riverboat casinos will not come ashore immediately, because of regulatory work and operators have to design and come up with financing.
"I would not look for anybody to have any concrete vision of how this will ultimately going to look until from an investor stand point, until the start of next year," said Duty.
Lake Charles Senator Ronnie Johns, says the Shreveport-Bossier City market will benefit the most, because they face tough competition from Oklahoma, where Indian tribes are building huge casinos. Duty says this is the first major change in Louisiana since casino gambling was legalized in 1991.
"You're going to see hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in new structures, you're going to see additional jobs that come with this and ultimately greater tax revenue for the state," said Duty.
Duty says the upcoming investments made by the casino industry will help the state’s bottom line.
"Obviously with the 21.5% tax rate, if the casinos are generating great revenue then Louisiana's portion of that increases concurrently," said Duty.
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