Family Council Action Committee Opposes Casino Amendment

Gambling,

The following is a press release from Family Council Action Committee.

On Friday Arkansas Wins in 2016 submitted petition signatures to the Arkansas Secretary of State requesting certification to place a casino amendment on the November ballot.

Family Council Action Committee Executive Director Jerry Cox released a statement against the amendment, saying, “This amendment allows a group of Missouri businessmen to write themselves and their gambling operation into the Arkansas Constitution.”

Cox said, “This amendment creates a monopoly allowing out-of-state businessmen to build casinos in Texarkana, Fayetteville, and Harrison. That’s bad enough, but the fact that no one else would be allowed to do the same creates a monopoly of the worst sort. Even if every voter in these cities opposes the casinos, they could still be built if the amendment passes in the statewide vote this November.”

Cox said the amendment lets casinos operate without enough accountability. “The way the amendment is written the Arkansas Legislature won’t be able to regulate them. It specifically states that any kind of gambling that is legal in Nevada and in several other states must be allowed at these casinos. In 10 or 20 years, there is not telling what kind of gambling they will be doing in Nevada and other states, but whatever it is, it will be allowed right here in Arkansas.”

Cox noted that casino gambling has not been an economic boon elsewhere. “Tunica County, Mississippi, has nine casinos. Just across the Mississippi River in Lee County, Arkansas, there are no casinos. The poverty levels in these two counties is almost identical. It’s the same with casinos in Oklahoma. At best their economy is stagnant. On the downside, communities with casinos see higher rates of bankruptcy, higher crime rates, higher divorce rates, and a greater need for community services to assist women and children in need. It’s no coincidence that pawn shops are usually next door to casinos. Arkansas won’t be any different. This is an industry that preys on poor people.”

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

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Report: Nearly 50,000 Arkansans Have Gambling Problem

Arkansas Lottery, ,

Poker_cards_and_chipsRecently we wrote about the Arkansas Lottery’s financial figures for the month of April, and how the Arkansas Lottery–once again–spent a pathetic percentage of its gross revenue on college scholarships.

While the Arkansas Lottery may not be contributing heavily to education, some believe it may be contributing heavily to a serious problem: Gambling addiction.

The National Council on Problem Gambling released a report late last year estimating that as many as 1 in 45 Arkansas adults (2.2% of the adult population in Arkansas) suffers from problem gambling. That is nearly 50,000 adults statewide.

The report notes,

When this lottery was set up in 2009, legislators set aside $200,000 annually for problem gambling treatment and education. In early 2015 legislators eliminated this funding, resulting in Arkansas being one of only 12 U.S. states that does not provide dedicated funding for problem gambling services.

An estimated 2.2% of Arkansas adult residents (49,728 citizens) are believed to manifest a gambling disorder (1 in every 45 adults). Gambling disorders carry widespread physical, social and financial consequences for individuals, their families and communities. These preventable problems result in millions of dollars each year spent on health care, criminal justice and social welfare systems. In addition to these measureable costs, the human costs are immeasurable. . . . .

In 2013, Arkansas ranked near the bottom of states with dedicated problem gambling service funding (ranked 30th out of 39 states with funding designated for problem gambling services). As a result of 2015 legislative action, Arkansas now ranks last with $0 public funds to prevent or treat gambling addiction.

When the Arkansas Legislature first directed the Lottery to pay $200,000 each year for a problem gambling helpline, our concern was $200,000 might not be enough money fund an adequate problem gambling program.

Helping people with gambling problems requires much more than simply answering a telephone; it’s about providing support and resources necessary to help people overcome their gambling addictions. That’s why it was so troubling to see the Arkansas Legislature cut off funding for the helpline last year.

I’m sure gambling in Hot Springs and West Memphis is contributing to Arkansans’ gambling addictions. But since the State of Arkansas entices people to gamble through the Arkansas Lottery, the State of Arkansas has a responsibility to ensure Arkansans are not being harmed by government-run gambling.

One way to do that is to reinstate funding for services designed to help people who suffer from gambling disorders–like the problem gambling help line.

You can read the NCPG’s full report here.

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Little Rock Port Authority Considers Memo of Understanding with Quapaw Tribe

Current Events, , ,

Skyline_of_Little_Rock,_Arkansas_-_20050319The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma is working to move property it owns just east of Little Rock into federal trust. Moving the land into federal trust would essentially turn the property into federal land held by the U.S. government in trust for the Quapaw Tribe.

There are provisions in federal law that might make it possible for the Quapaw to open gambling establishments on the property once it is moved into federal trust. Moreover, once the land goes into federal trust, the State of Arkansas, Pulaski County, and the City of Little Rock all lose most of their ability to tax or manage the property; how the property is developed or used becomes a matter that rests largely between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Quapaw Tribe.

Recently it was announced the Little Rock Port Authority–which is adjacent to the Quapaw Tribe’s property–is considering signing a memo of understanding with the tribe that, among other things, might effectively prevent the tribe from developing a casino on the property. However if the land is moved into federal trust, that memo arguably will not have any force of law.

(more…)

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