Florida to debate gaming law
Voters in Charge Group introduced a petition to let residents decide on gambling laws.
US.- The State of Florida Supreme Court held a public hearing this week to change the legislation on casino industry. The Justice could set new controls on gambling, by delegating the power to voters, instead of State’s legislators. The Voter Control of Gambling bill was introduced by the group Voters in Charge and is expected to carry out a referendum in the 2018 ballot.
The Supreme Court would debate on the project, which would make voters the key decision-makers as to the situations of casinos in Florida. The constitutional amendment would be added in two years and would extremely limit the development of casino industry and gambling in general in the Eastern State.
Adam Schachter, the lawyer representing supporters of the Voter Control of Gambling amendment, commented, “This initiative presents a simple and straight forward amendment to the constitution by providing Florida’s voters with the exclusive right to authorise casino gambling in Florida, this amendment provides both clarity and common sense on an issue where both are sorely needed.”
Meanwhile, casino and gambling operators expressed their concern about the amendment as it would lead to “a ridiculous amount of litigation,” in words of Lawyer Marc Dunbar, representing a number of gambling interests opposed to the proposal. Jurist from Florida, Barbara Pariente, also added, “Voters should know what an amendment will do, as opposed to telling them ‘just read it and you’ll understand what you’re voting on’, I think our role is to ensure that the ballot title and summary accurately reflects the substance of the amendment.”
