Arkansas Casino Referendum Will Go Before Voters Following Supreme Court Ruling

Posted on: October 18, 2024, 08:15h. 

Last updated on: October 18, 2024, 09:03h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

An Arkansas casino referendum asking voters to repeal a gaming license assigned to Pope County that was awarded to a commercial entity controlled by the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma will go to the ballot after the state Supreme Court on Thursday fully dismissed a lawsuit challenging its merits.

Arkansas casino referendum Issue 2
Issue 2, a question about whether casinos in Arkansas should only be allowed in counties where voters approve them through local referendums, will go before state voters. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled this week that a legal challenge to the campaign was meritless. (Image: Arkansas Division of Agriculture)

On Thursday, the Arkansas Supreme Court rejected allegations that the popular name and ballot title of Issue 2 were insufficient and misleading. The lawsuit came from the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, a political action group bankrolled by Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE).

The state’s highest court ruled in a 6-1 decision that Issue 2’s wording was sufficient.

We hold that the popular name and ballot title are an intelligible, honest, and impartial means of presenting the Proposed Amendment to the people for their consideration,” Associate Justice Karen Baker wrote on behalf of the majority.

Associate Justice Shawn Womack dissented on his belief that Issue 2 is “plainly misleading” because it does not make clear that the referendum would revoke Pope County’s existing license.

Earlier this week, the state Supreme Court rejected another claim by the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee that challenged how voter signatures were collected to place Issue 2 on the 2024 ballot. 

Issue at Hand 

Issue 2 will ask Arkansas voters if they wish to restructure how the Arkansas Racing Commission issues gaming licenses.

In 2018, a statewide ballot referendum that passed with 54% support authorized four commercial casinos in the counties of Crittenden, Garland, Pope, and Jefferson. Voters in Pope County were one of only 11 communities in the state’s 75 counties that voted against the gambling question.

Issue 2 would amend the state’s gaming law to require that ARC can only grant a gaming concession to a designated host city that additionally fielded local support by way of a referendum. If Issue 2 passes next month, the Cherokees’ license for its project in Russellville called Legends Resort & Casino would be rescinded and Pope County would need to conduct a local referendum asking voters to approve the $300 million project.

While the three other casinos are up and running, Pope County’s casino aspirations, strongly supported by local government officials, including Pope County Judge Ben Cross and 12 of the 13 Pope County Quorum Court members, have been delayed for years because of legal wranglings among the Cherokees and a Mississippi-based firm that sought the development opportunity. After years of setbacks on an array of legal contentions, the state concluded that only the Cherokee bid qualified for consideration and it was therefore granted the gaming concession.

Campaign Spending

With Issue 2 posing to further delay the Cherokee’s casino development, the tribe is spending heavily on its campaign to defeat the ballot question.

The Cherokees have spent $11.6 million on its fight to convince voters to shoot down the measure. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which is behind Issue 2 to limit gaming competition for its tribal casinos in the eastern part of the Sooner State, has spent $8.8 million.

Recent polling suggests the outcome of Issue 2 will be close. About 30% of those polled said they weren’t sure how they’d vote come November 5.