Arkansas election officials okay casino ballot measure

Secretary of State Mark Martin's office said Thursday that the group Arkansas Wins submitted 100,977 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The group needed 84,859 signatures from registered voters to qualify as a constitutional amendment.

The proposal calls for a five-member commission appointed by the governor to regulate the casinos, and it would also require the casinos to pay the state an 18 percent tax on net gambling receipts.

Family Council Action Committee Executive Director Jerry Cox released the following statement against the amendment:

This amendment allows a group of Missouri businessmen to write themselves and their gambling operation into the Arkansas Constitution.

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.

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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

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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.

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.

Chairman of Protect Arkansas’ Values, Chuck Lange, released the following response:

We are opposing this amendment because it is a bad deal for Arkansas. No state has ever allowed something this outrageous.
We are concerned that there is no accountability in this amendment and no protections for the people of Arkansas. There are no mechanisms for local governments to object to the placement of casinos in their community. There are no real regulatory restrictions for these casinos, which would allow them to subvert local law and do whatever they please.

We believe that Arkansans should fully understand what this amendment will do to damage our state and we will be working to educate voters on these problems over the next couple months.