STATESIDE Stateside
Thankfully, the American mid-term elections are over.
N
o more horrendous television or radio commercials. No more flyers with promotional nonsense clogging my mailbox. I’m ever hopeful that the US can return to actually getting business done and move forward.
Congress in Washington will see a lot of unfamiliar faces in
early January. If the preliminary noise coming from the new leadership is any indication, they will probably be as ineffective as their predecessors on some key issues. Sorry… they have a poor track record. Some have definitely been in Washington too long –
20,30, even 40 years – with plenty of lifetime perks. Is this like a family business, transferrable to one’s heirs? Wives, siblings and children have sometimes assumed a seat when a legislator retired, got sick or died. Should it be okay to inherit a public position? Despite this sad scenario, 2018 has been monumental for gaming. Doesn’t It seem like forever ago, not just seven months, since the Supreme Court’s earthshaking sports betting decision? As a New Jersey resident, voter and taxpayer, I relish in the “grit” of our state’s casino industry. Executives and legislators, plus former Governor Chris Christie, saw this intense sports betting battle through to the end without using any taxpayer money for funding. The casinos foot the legal bills because everyone believed they were on the right side of history and fought their way to win. Now, taking New Jersey’s lead and advance planning to
create a great business model, multiple states are already operating or have passed legislation. Others are in the development stages and 2019 should launch their programs too. The national sports betting picture will look quite different a year from now. It reminds me of the 1987 Cabazon vs. California Supreme
Court victory, which legalized the explosion of tribal gaming. Of course, the New Jersey case was on a much smaller scale, but the little guy did triumph in the end.
8 DECEMBER 2018 Now, 30 years after the 1988 passage of IGRA, some tribes
are already underway in Mississippi and New Mexico with their new sports betting operations. I’m sure more will follow next year. What an amazing experiment tribal gaming turned out to be.
Who could imagine that in only three decades, tribal gaming across America would become so competitive and sophisticated, worth billions in property and investments values. Tribal gaming revenues topped $32 billion in 2017, totaling almost half of all US gaming. Back to the election. Gaming issues are such strong economic and emotional topics that there is rarely a voting cycle where some form of gaming question is not on the ballot. This year, four states included significant gaming- related ballot questions:
ARKANSAS – Issue 4 – Casinos Authorized in Crittenden, Garland, Pope, and Jefferson Counties Initiative (2018), passed with 54 per cent. It will amend the Arkansas Constitution and require the Arkansas Racing Commission to issue casino licenses to allow gaming at four state horse or dog racing tracks.
FLORIDA – Amendment 3 – Voter Approval of Casino Gambling Initiative, passed by 71 per cent. Amendment 3 gives voters, not legislators, the exclusive right to decide whether to authorize future casino gambling in Florida. Currently, eight tribal casinos earn billions in revenues while also paying billions in wages and tax and/or revenue-sharing agreements. Of 67 Florida counties, commercial card games, casino
games and slot machines are only permitted in two-Broward and Miami-Dade. They have legal status because of their slot machines at pari-mutuel horse and greyhound racing facilities that were licensed during the prior two years. Jai alai is also exempted. The Poker Alliance opposed Amendment 3, calling it “a
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