Spectacle Entertainment’s plans to set up a gambling venue in the Hoosier State may face some significant delays. The company has recently come under the spotlight for violations that one of the members of its management team committed. According to local media, the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) is investigating the casino operators after it was discovered that an individual in the ranks of the company may have broken laws pertaining to political campaign financing.
Due to the revelation, the Indiana Gaming Commission has decided to delay a hearing on whether or not the gambling operator will be awarded a license to operate in the state. The gambling facility that Spectacle Entertainment has planned will be the third operation it has in the state – it already has two other operations in the state.
The Violations
As it turns out, Charles O’Neill of Strategic Campaign Group Incorporated, a political consultant, pleaded guilty to charges of funneling campaign contributions illegally for Centaur Gaming. Now, Centaur Gaming was the forerunner for Spectacle Entertainment – the latter was formed in 2019 by the former owner of Centaur Gaming and a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana.
During the hearing in the federal court in Arlington, Charles O’Neill admitted that he had played a part in steering illegal corporate donations from Spectacle Entertainment to and congressional candidate in the state. A local news channel confirmed that the congressional candidate in question is Brent Waltz, a Republican who contested in the 9th Congressional District primary elections back in 2016.
O’Neil apparently asked people to write cheques to the candidate’s campaign back in 2015. The parties involved obtained the funds through a fake $38,500 contract with the Strategic Campaign Group. When getting the funds, they claimed that they would be used for some political work.
Needless to say, these are some pretty serious allegations and the Indiana Gaming Commission intends to get to the bottom of it. Fortunately, the gaming company has agreed to corporate with the commission.
“Spectacle pledges to fully cooperate with the Indiana Gaming Commission as it investigates this matter. We take such matters very seriously and we will share more information should additional details become available,” a statement from Spectacle Entertainment reads.
What Now?
As mentioned earlier, the company’s plans for a $125 million casino has been put on hold. Its future is quite uncertain as well. If everything goes well and the issue gets resolved, the casino development will continue. It will be operating under the Hard Rock International brand and will be located in Terre Haute.
A lot is hanging on the case. As such, authorities from the area are hoping all negativity will be cleared out soon. They have a lot of confidence in the gaming commission due to its great reputation for handling such kind of issues. Still, the uncertainty around the matter is still quite prominent.