Arkansas Supreme Court strikes casino amendment

Arkansas voters will not decide on whether to allow casinos in three state counties.

US.- The Arkansas Supreme Court disqualified a measure that would have allowed three counties to legalise gambling. The high court ruled that the ballot title was misleading since it didn’t inform voters that the measure would violate a federal law that prohibits sports gambling in Arkansas.

A statement released by the court says that the voters are entitled to a ballot title that is honest, impartial and intelligible and will give them a fair understanding of the issues presented. The court agreed with opponents of the measure that pointed out the fact that sports betting is illegal because of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 that limits sports betting to just a few states.

Spokesman for the Arkansas Wins in 2016 campaign, Robert Coon, said: “Our campaign is disappointed in the court’s decision today. Most importantly, it’s a shame that the voters of Arkansas, including the more than 100,000 that signed our petitions are being denied opportunity to vote on an amendment that would create thousands of jobs and more than US$120 million in new tax revenue for the state and local communities.”

The proposal initially stated that 18 percent of each casino’s net gambling receipts would’ve gone to Arkansas, another 0.5 percent to the county and 1.5 percent to the city.