Arkansas Readies Expanded Gambling Legislation

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December 14th, 2018
Back Arkansas Readies Expanded Gambling Legislation

As an aftermath of November's mid-term elections during which the voters narrowly declared their desire to move the state of Arkansas closer to expanded gambling, the Arkansas Racing Commission has begun their work on new casino regulation rules!

This new piece of legislation in the making will pave the way for construction for completely developed casinos...

...after which they will be offering a full range of products and services, including sports betting and table games.

The new regulation's proposal deadline is March 14th 2109.

Fairness Before Quickness

Arkansas' Jefferson County has already written a letter of support to Oklahoma's Quapaw Tribe that was selected to construct and operate the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff – a region that the tribe has historical ties with.

Downstream Development Authority attorney, Alex Gray, suggested to the Racing Commission that, should the application and regulation process be expedited...

...the tribe could begin the construction of the Casino early next year. Rules can be amended afterwards or as the casino is being built, so that the tax revenue can be generated for the state and local communities.

However, some commissioners, such as chairman of the Arkansas Racing Commission Alex Lieblong, are strongly opposing this:

They want to proceed with the new regulation with caution as the public's eye will be on them as casino expansion draws to its conclusion.

Leblong proposed the reviewing of the application rules before the Commission assembles towards the end of the year, and added:

“We are not whatsoever trying to be a roadblock. We’re just trying to make sure that it’s done in the fairest possible way for Arkansas.”

Going Full-Fledged

The state of Arkansas has casino construction legalized in four counties. Horse and dog racing tracks offer electronic gambling in Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis and Oakland Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs. These venues, as well as the others and those to be built, will expand to full-fledged casinos.

During November's mid-term elections, Arkansas voters were asked to tackle the so-called Arkansas Issue 4. The dilemma it proposed was whether to allow the authorization of new casinos in counties where there are none.

These places are Crittenden, Garland, Pope and Jefferson counties. The outcome was that 453,275 voters responded with 'yes' to the initiative of authorizing one casino each in these counties, while 384,526 voters were against it.

Source:

“Arkansas Racing Commission drafting new casino legislation”, Niji Ng, europeangaming.eu, December 11, 2018.

“The new regulation's proposal deadline is March 14th 2109.”

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