Online gambling has been around for three decades, birthed in 1994 via Antigua and Barbuda’s Free Trade and Processing Act. Nevertheless, state-wise, this industry did not get up and running until 2013, when New Jersey became the first American state to legalize playing games of chance and poker online. Today, experts guess that this sphere shall pull in $23 billion in 2024, in the US alone, growing at an annual rate of 8.8%, while globally, its market size should stand at $100 billion, expanding at a yearly compound growth rate of 6.2%.
Unfortunately, Indiana will not join the other seven US regions that have authorized online gambling for their residents anytime soon. Corruption scandals recently rocked The Hoosier State, which has caused Indiana’s lawmakers to pause in looking to establish a framework for licensing online gambling platforms.
Todd Huston, a House Speaker, along with Rodric Bray, a Senate President Pro Tem, have added the 2023 sentence of former legislator Sean Eberhart, along with the 2022 one for Senator Brent Waltz, have tainted citizens’ trust in the Statehouse and the legislative process. Hence, it is now difficult for them to engage in any gaming-related policy. That stopped representative Ethan Manning’s hopes of pushing through an online lottery and interactive gaming bill again.
The severity of the Eberhart scandal, in particular, was further exacerbated by the fact that no state agency recognized what was happening, and it was only due to FBI involvement that perpetrators got caught and brought to justice. Their apprehension and sentencing have paused legislative efforts regarding online gambling until Statehouse confidence gets restored. That means that Indiana online casinos remain offshore, and here, we detail the charges the sentenced parties got accused of and their convictions.
Rep. Sean Eberhart – Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud
Eberhart is a Shelbyville-born Republican in the Indiana House of Representatives who represents the 57th district. He first came into office in 2007, preceding Luke Messer. During his political career, he served on the Shelby County Council, acting as its president from 2003 to 2006.
In November 2003, Eberhart, at fifty-seven, agreed to enter a guilty plea and admit that he compromised with others to support third-party legislative interests in exchange for lucrative future employment in their company. Per the US Attorney’s office, the party in question was Spectacle Entertainment. And per public documents, Eberhart agreed to support bills whose goals would favor this business entity. That especially holds for one that aimed to relocate two land-based gaming venues from Lake Michigan to areas more beneficial for Spectacle. The kickback Eberhart got promised in exchange for providing this support was an annual salary of $350,000 as a Spectacle employee.
Eberhart fulfilled his end of the agreement, and because of an interaction with him, the state lowered the casino moving fee from $100 million to $20 million. However, the company eventually lost its license due to various financial problems.
The State Attorney working on Eberhart’s case, Brad Shepard, agreed to reduce his sentence to forty-six months, with the potential to get released in thirty-seven due to his acceptance of responsibility.
Sen. Brent Waltz & John Keeler – Criminal Election Finance Schemes
Waltz is a former Member of the Indiana Senate from the 36th district, assuming this role from 2005 to 2017, where he represented northern Johnson County and southern Marion County. In September 2020, at forty-eight, he was indicted on five counts concerning his 2016 Congress Camping, connected to violations of federal campaign finance laws. Waltz admitted to misleading the Federal Bureau of Investigations and receiving fictitious donations.
Thus, he pleaded guilty to getting illegal contributions of $40,500 for his congressional campaign. These funds were funneled to Waltz’s campaign via Kelley Rogers, a Maryland-based political consultant from New Centaur LLC, an Indiana-based casino company.
New Centaur LLC is a business entity active in Indiana’s gaming and horse racing sector, primarily under Centaur Gaming. The money sent through Kelley Rogers to Brent Waltz was issued by John Keeler, a general counsel and former vice president of New Centaur. Keeler tried to mimic the payment approved to Rogers as a deductible business-related expense, which an IRS Criminal Investigation uncovered.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers, stated that these kinds of undisclosed/illegal corporate contributions do loads to hurt the trust the public has in the election process. So, authorities take the funneling of casino money into political campaigns illegally super seriously, as they do irreparable damage to the democratic process and the country’s system of taxation. That publicly disclosed stance contributed to Senator Brent Waltz receiving ten months in federal prison and John Keeler getting two months in a federal penal institution.