Judge rejects remaining challenge to Ohio casinos

Voters approved those amendments in 2009 and 2010, and a group of people associated with the Ohio Roundtable later sued to challenge the changes.

The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed most of those parties earlier this year for lack of legal standing. Kinsey had been the only one who remained.

There was no immediate reaction from the anti-gambling group.

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An attorney for one of the companies involved in the lawsuit says the judge's decision settles any argument that Ohio's gambling laws are unconstitutional

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“The court finds the Casino Amendments have a legitimate purpose, as they clearly relate to the state’s interest in regulating gaming and economic activities. The court also finds that it is reasonable to believe the Casino Amendments promote that purpose,” the judge said in an 11-page ruling.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Frederick Kinsey was the last remaining member of the 17 associated with the Ohio Roundtable who filed a 2011 lawsuit challenging the amendments approved by voters in 2009 and 2010. The remainder had been dismissed in March by the Ohio Supreme Court for a lack of legal standing to bring a legal challenge.

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Kinsey remained as a challenger because the high court noted he claimed he also wanted to start a casino, so therefore he at least arguably had the legal right to sue

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But Brown said Kinsey’s claims that he was denied equal protection “cannot, as a matter of law, succeed” because the state has the power to grant certain gaming companies a monopoly on operating Ohio’s four casinos.

“This well-reasoned decision puts to rest any argument that Ohio’s gaming laws and regulations are unconstitutional,” said Albert Lin, lawyer for one of the companies involved in the lawsuit, Penn National Gaming, as well as a member of the Ohio State Bar Association Gaming Committee.

“Local governments and communities will now be able to depend on the tax base and employment these businesses provide.”

There was no immediate reaction from the Ohio Roundtable, which filed the lawsuit, or the lead defendant, Gov. John Kasich. After the March court ruling, the Roundtable's parent organization said, "A first-year law student understands that constitutional law cannot be rewritten by a governor and legislature."

John H. Oberle, chair of the bar association gaming panel, said “the court's dismissal … provides legal certainty to Ohio's four casinos, and substantiates the legal structure of the Ohio casino law approved by voters, the General Assembly, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission if this case is not appealed.”