Casino Amendment Would Build Highways By Fleecing the Poor

Casinos,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 25, 2018

Little Rock, Ark. – On Thursday the Arkansas Attorney General rejected wording for a ballot proposal authorizing casinos in three counties in Arkansas.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement saying, “I am glad Attorney General Rutledge rejected this measure. This amendment is so bad it’s hard to know where to begin. Casinos prey on the poor, but this amendment deliberately builds casinos in some of Arkansas’ poorest counties. In fact, it actually prohibits casinos in prosperous counties in central and northwest Arkansas. Why would they want to put casinos in the poorest parts of the state? That’s just going to entice poor people to gamble away what little money they have.”

Cox also said the amendment benefits gambling corporations from other states. “The way the amendment is written, wealthy companies who have experience running casinos elsewhere are the only ones who would be eligible to operate casinos in Arkansas. That’s going to favor big gambling corporations from other states who are looking to expand business. Local people won’t be the ones who own the casinos. Exactly how does that drive Arkansas forward?”

Cox also pointed out the tax rate the amendment imposes on casinos is well below the national average. “Most states tax casinos at a rate of twenty-percent to fifty-percent or more. Under this amendment, casinos in Arkansas would be taxed at twelve-percent. That means casinos in Arkansas would not generate as much tax revenue as they do in other states.”

Cox said in the end casinos will not improve Arkansas’ economy. “Just look at Mississippi and Oklahoma. Their counties that have casinos also have high levels of poverty. Arkansas already has casinos in Garland and Crittenden counties. Garland Count’s poverty rate is forty-percent higher than nearby Saline County’s. Crittenden’s poverty levels are some of the highest in the state. You can’t gamble and tax your way to prosperity.

“And what about the social cost? Casino gambling is linked to homelessness, domestic violence, divorce, and bankruptcy. Supporters say the amendment will improve Arkansas’ roads. If any roads get improved, the poor will be the ones paying for it, and the best roads in town probably will be the ones leading to the casino.”

Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock.

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Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Attorney General Rejects Casino Proposal

Casinos, Gambling, ,

Last week Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge rejected a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing casinos in Arkansas.

The A.G. called the proposal’s ballot title, “very confusing to the point of being nonsensical.”

As far as we can tell, the proposal effectively would have allowed casinos in any municipality with a population greater than 20,000 people.

This is not the first time efforts have been made to bring casino gambling to Arkansas. In 2005 the Arkansas Legislature passed legislation paving the way for “electronic games of skill” at Arkansas’ racetracks; these games look and function much like traditional casino games.

Constitutional amendments legalizing casino gambling elsewhere in Arkansas have been proposed almost every election year–including last year.

And the Arkansas Lottery has tried in the past to expand its gambling operation to include casino-style games such as keno.

There are no two ways about it: Gambling is a blight on the community; we have seen time and time again how it hurts families and ruins lives. That’s why we oppose any effort to expand gambling in Arkansas.

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Court Strikes Bad Casino, Tort Proposals From Ballot

Casinos, Current Events,

my_trusty_gavelThe following press release is from Family Council Action Committee.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 13, 2016

On Thursday the Arkansas Supreme Court disqualified ballot proposals, Issue 4 dealing with limits on damages in medical injury lawsuits and Issue 5, which opens three casinos in Arkansas, from the November ballot.

Family Council Action Committee Executive Director Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “In my opinion, both of these measures were seriously flawed and needed to be removed from the ballot. While I support general medical malpractice reforms for doctors, Issue 4 could have made it possible for some nursing homes to neglect residents without facing sufficient consequences. Issue 5 would have brought casinos to three counties in Arkansas, and it would have written a specific corporation from Missouri into our state’s constitution. I am glad to see the Arkansas Supreme Court has disqualified these proposals.”

Cox said he also believes the court should have ruled against the two marijuana ballot proposals as well in order to be consistent with this ruling. “The Arkansas Supreme Court disqualified Issues 4 and 5 in part because they failed to define some of their key terms in the proposals. Marijuana Issues 6 and 7 fail to define some of their key terms as well, but the court left those proposals on the ballot. The court was right to disqualify Issues 4 and 5, but by the same standard, the court should have disqualified the two marijuana measures as well.”

Family Council Action Committee is a conservative 501(c)(4) organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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