A.G. Rejects Another Casino Proposal

Casinos, Gambling, ,

Last Thursday Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge rejected a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing four casinos in Arkansas.

Under the amendment, one casino license would go to Oaklawn in Garland County; another would go to Southland in Crittenden County; and two more casinos would be built in Pope and Jefferson counties.

The proposal is similar to one the A.G. rejected a few weeks ago. The amendment reportedly is backed by the Quapaw Tribe in Oklahoma.

In related news, last week Talk Business and Politics reported a ballot question committee has formed to push for casino gambling in Pulaski, Miller, Boone, and Benton counties. The group is called Arkansas Wins In 2018, Inc, and it appears to be an effort to let out-of-state businessmen build casinos in Texarkana, Harrison, Little Rock, and Northwest Arkansas.

As the Associated Press reported last week, all of this is setting up the possibility for competing casino amendments appearing on the ballot this November. Fortunately, Arkansas’ Attorney General is successfully stopping these groups from foisting their gambling proposals on voters.

Casino gambling is linked to homelessness, domestic violence, divorce, and bankruptcy. It’s a blight on the community. Arkansas already has enough problems from gambling. We don’t need any more.

You can read the A.G.’s entire opinion on the casino amendment here.

Photo Credit: By Toni Lozano [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

READ MORE

New Casino Proposal In The Works

Casinos, Gambling, ,

Talk Business and Politics reports a ballot question committee has formed to push for casino gambling in Pulaski, Miller, Boone, and Benton counties.

The group is called Arkansas Wins In 2018, Inc.

You may recall Arkansas Wins In 2016 proposed a similar casino amendment that ultimately was removed from the ballot.

This appears to be an effort to let out-of-state businessmen build casinos in Texarkana, Harrison, Little Rock, and Northwest Arkansas.

The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma gave $6 million to Arkansas Wins in 2016. The Cherokee Nation also would have operated one of the casinos the 2016 amendment authorized. It is not clear at this point if the Cherokee Nation would operate casinos under the 2018 proposal.

Earlier this month Attorney General Leslie Rutledge rejected a casino proposal from Driving Arkansas Forward that would build casinos in Jefferson, Garland, Crittenden, and Pope counties. That amendment effort reportedly is backed by the Quapaw Tribe in Oklahoma.

Casino gambling is linked to homelessness, domestic violence, divorce, and bankruptcy. It’s a blight on the community. Arkansas already has enough problems from gambling. We don’t need any more.

READ MORE

A.G. Rejects Casino Amendment

Casinos

On Monday Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment establishing four casinos in Arkansas.

The proposal is similar to one the A.G.’s office rejected last month.

Supporters of the measure want to circulate petitions to place the amendment on the November ballot. If passed, the amendment would authorize casinos in Jefferson, Garland, Crittenden, and Pope counties.

The measure also would legalize sports betting at these casinos if federal laws against sports betting change.

The A.G.’s office said the amendment’s popular name was too long to be useful and that its ballot title did not accurately reflect the measure.

The A.G.’s office also noted that the ballot title itself appeared too long. In the past courts have indicated that ballot titles must be short enough that voters can read and understand them in a reasonable amount of time while in the voting booth.

We applaud Attorney General Rutledge and her team for rejecting this casino amendment. Gambling is a blight on the community. It preys on the poor and hurts families. These are problems Arkansas simply does not need.

You can read the Attorney General’s entire decision here.

READ MORE