Arkansas approves wording of casino ballot
The Attorney General of the state has approved the working for ballot measures that would legalise casinos.
US.- Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has approved the wording for a ballot measure that would legalise casinos in the state. The official had rejected the initiative to bring casinos to Arkansas more than four times.
The measure certified on Wednesday allows gambling supporters to gather the signatures needed to get the proposals on the November ballot. The state Supreme Court had ordered her to certify one of the four ballots that were sent to her, which increases the minimum wage to US$12 an hour by 2022.
Rutledge said that she approved the measured in an “exercise of caution” after the court’s order, which she claims didn’t put clear standards. “I have issued opinions on ballot proposals based on standards set forth in statutes as well as case law of the Arkansas Supreme Court,” said Rutledge. “However, the Arkansas Supreme Court has once again muddied the waters on these standards by offering no insight in its decision requiring me to certify or substitute the language of a ballot title that I had previously rejected. In light of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s failure to put forth clear standards, I am certifying these proposals in an exercise of caution to ensure Arkansans are given an opportunity to put these measures on the ballot.”
The proposal would allow four gaming salons in the State – in Benton, Boone, Miller and Pulaski – in order to boost the government’s revenue and further investment in improving the region’s lifestyle.
Moreover, the ballot includes sports betting: Alex Gray, the Little Rock lawyer working on the casino amendment, confirmed that it includes a provision to allow sports betting if federal law changed. Since the US Supreme Court lifted the Act that prohibited states from offering the gambling modality, Arkansas could end up offering sports betting as well.
