Arkansas tribes to be affected by casino proposal
An initiative by group Arkansas Wins to build four casinos in the state could affect a Cherokee Nation-owned gaming venue.
US.- Arkansas has recently rejected a ballot initiative to build three casinos in the state, but that didn’t stop a group called Arkansas Wins in 2018 to file its own, promoting the construction of four gaming venues. However, there has already been some concerns about how it will impact on the Cherokee Nation’s casino in the state.
“Assuming qualification of the proposed amendment, this ballot question would be presented to a popular vote at the General Election in November 2018,” Arkansas Wins ballot question statement reads. The document was submitted on March 27th and seeks to get authorisation to build in Benton, Boone, Miller and Pulaski counties.
Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) CEO Shawn Slaton said they will assess the possibilities and stated: “At some point, we and the tribe will have to make a decision about what we want to do over there. The options that are out there is do nothing and just wait and see what happens, find something that we can support and participate and protect our territory, or put money behind and defeat it. All of those have different risks associated with them that it’s a very serious threat to the (Cherokee) Nation and to the businesses.”
The rejection of the previous project in 2016 was mainly “based on what was best for the Cherokee Nation, CNE employees and the revenue stream that funds so many vital Cherokee Nation social services and programs like housing, healthcare, education and more,” Slaton explained. Therefore, there are probably not very high expectations regarding the approval of this proposal.
