Slot Machine Group Spent $45,647 On Petition Drive in December

Arkansas Lottery, Gambling,

According to reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, in December the group Arcade Arkansas spent $45,647 on its effort to bring more casino-style games to the state.

Virtually all of this money went toward the group’s petition drive.

Arcade Arkansas is collecting petition signatures for a ballot measure that would legalize gambling machines as part of the Arkansas Lottery.

As we said last summer, this amendment will bring casino-type gambling machines into convenience stores and eating places all over Arkansas. 

It will turn the corner convenience store into a casino and create hangouts where people can gamble 24 hours a day.

The amendment allows up to 15,000 gambling machines statewide with little or no oversight to prevent fraud.

All told, the group has spent more than $280,000 on its pro-gambling effort since last August.

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Slot Machine Group Spends Nearly $235,000 On Ballot Effort

Arkansas Lottery, Gambling,

According to reports filed with the state Ethics Commission, the group Arcade Arkansas has spent $234,784.49 on its effort to bring more casino-style gambling to Arkansas.

Arcade Arkansas is collecting petition signatures for a ballot measure that would legalize gambling machines as part of the Arkansas Lottery.

As we said last summer, this amendment will bring casino-type gambling machines into convenience stores and eating places all over Arkansas. 

It will turn the corner convenience store into a casino and create hangouts where people can gamble 24 hours a day.

The amendment allows up to 15,000 gambling machines statewide with little or no oversight to prevent fraud.

Since August, Arcade Arkansas has raised nearly $239,000 for its effort, and it has spent nearly $235,000.

Most of this money has gone to pay petition canvassers and consultants.

The fact that Arcade Arkansas is spending so much money on its petition drive means there’s a very strong possibility the group will gather enough signatures to place its amendment on the ballot this November.

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Quapaw Install Gambling Machines at “Casino Annex” in Pine Bluff

Gambling,

According to KATV, the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma has begun installing 300 gambling machines in its Pine Bluff “casino annex” located across the street from its main casino building that is currently under construction.

The main casino will open next year, but the “casino annex” — a mini casino across the street — will open in a few weeks.

I’m not sure voters imagined that casinos would be able to operate gambling machines in different buildings in town when the casino amendment passed last year, but apparently that’s what is happening.

It’s worth pointing out that by some estimates state and local government spend up to $10 in social services for every $1 received in tax revenue from casino gambling.

Gambling is linked to divorce, bankruptcy, homelessness, domestic violence, and a host of other problems that hurt families. Casino tax money simply cannot compensate for the toll gambling take on a community.

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