Arkansas voters to decide on casinos in November
The Secretary of State’s office announced the necessary signatures have been gathered to get a casino referendum in the November ballot.
US.- Pro-casino lobby group Driving Arkansas Forward (DAF) has finally reached the necessary signatures to get a casino referendum in the November election ballot. The Secretary of State’s office announced the group passed the necessary 84,589 signatures required for the measure as it reached nearly 100k.
The referendum will include authorisation to develop one new casino in each of Jefferson and Pope counties. It would also allow slots-only casinos at the Oaklawn and Southland racetracks to add live table games and sports betting.
The successful signature collection process by DAF was mainly funded by the two Oklahoma Indian tribal groups that control the organisation: the Quapaw tribe’s Downstream Development Authority and the Cherokee Nation Businesses LLC. They provided most of the US$2.3 million that the group raised to fund its casino ballot campaign.
In 2016, a similar casino referendum was set to be included in an election ballot but was pulled just weeks ahead of the vote. Back then, the Supreme Court noticed it would have authorised sports betting should it pass, which would’ve gone against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), struck down in May.
