State’s top gambling regulator to step down • Indiana Capital Chronicle

That was after longtime regulator Sara Gonso Tait — who spent six years at the helm, and four in other roles — left.

Holcomb’s office noted that Small led an efficiency-focused reorganization of the agency’s law enforcement division, and the launch of a streamlined licensing management application.

The news release also highlighted that, under Small, the commission granted its first competitive casino license in over a decade. The Terre Haute Casino Resort, run by racing and entertainment powerhouse Churchill Downs, opened in the spring.

But that casino’s license was relocated to Terre Haute in a 2019 corruption scandal that, this summer, put one former lawmaker behind bars for a year. It was originally a lakeshore license.

Former Rep. Sean Eberhart, a Republican from Shelbyville, accepted a lucrative job with gambling company Spectacle Entertainment in exchange for his support of a bill allowing the transfer of casino licenses to Terre Haute and another city, among other beneficial terms.

The commission’s relationship with key GOP lawmakers has grown chillier under Small’s tenure.

‘Get your house in order’: Lawmakers admonish gambling regulation agency, which defends processes

The lawmaker-dominated State Budget Committee left the agency off an agenda last November, leaving newly imposed year-end deadlines to threaten rules critical to gambling law enforcement. The commission landed on the December agenda.

That’s when legislators on the committee admonished the agency — accusing it of being unfairly punitive to casinos and of having a “culture problem.”

During the legislative session, lawmakers approved language blocking budget augmentations and transfers to the committee without approval from the State Budget Committee.

Small’s last day as executive director will be September 20, according to the news release.

Dennis Mullen, who has worked for the commission since 2015, will begin as acting agency head on September 23, in addition to his current duties.

“The agency will be left in good hands with Dennis at the helm,” Holcomb said.

Mullen earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from DePauw University and a Juris Doctor from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.