(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - $154,000,000.

Grand Victoria Casino in Rising Sun, Ind. file photo

That’s how much gambling tax revenue could be lost in Indiana each year as new casinos prepare to open in neighboring states.

Casinos being built in Cincinnati and Chicago are identified the biggest threats. A study by Spectrum Gaming Group determined Cincinnati’s casino – set to open in 2012 - could siphon $181 million a year in revenues and $57.4 million in taxes from the three southeast Indiana riverboats.

Casino gaming is Indiana’s fourth-largest tax revenue source behind sales tax, individual income tax, and corporate income tax according to the Indiana Department of Revenue. Gaming accounts for about five percent of Indiana’s revenue.

State Sen. Ron Alting (R-Lafayette) said he will propose a bill during the 2011 legislative session that will help Indiana casinos cut their costs.

Alting wants to cease requiring riverboats to have an operable engine as well as captain and crew.  State lawmakers voted two years ago to allow riverboats to remain docked around the clock instead of docking and undocking several times daily.

Alting said allowing casinos to be on non-motorized barges would help reduce costs of building new casinos or replacing existing ones.

Anything we can do to encourage the existing licensees to expand their investment in Indiana is healthy,” said Alting.

The 2011 legislative session will begin at the Indiana Statehouse Jan. 5.