Emotions Run High as Election Day Nears for Issue 6
October 22, 2008

Issue 6 continues to dominate the field on controversy on the ballot this November. Voters are split and often ambivalent on the casino question. Many are not in favor of gambling but are tired of watching Ohio dollars flow to casinos in bordering states. Others are not opposed to gambling per se, but think that the deal offered by Issue 6 is not fair to the state or citizens.

Some of the reasons offered by casino opponents:

• Issue 6 calls for a refundable license fee of $15 million. Other states require casino licenses to be auctioned off instead. The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a conservative think tank, estimated that a license for a casino monopoly in Ohio could bring as much as $1 billion in an auction setting.
  
• A widely seized-upon “loophole” in Issue 6 could supposedly lower the tax rate on the casino to zero if a tribal casino is ever authorized in Ohio. A zero tax rate is unlikely since the money that tribal casinos pay to state governments pursuant to their compacts could be characterized as a tax. However, the possibility has been cited repeatedly by casino opponents.
  
• The casino would not generate wealth or tap a new, untouched market in the economy. Instead the casino would redistribute how disposable income is already spent. For example, according to the Buckeye Institute, each dollar spent at the casino would equal one dollar less spent at stores, restaurants, and other entertainment venues in the local economy.
  
• The fact that the amendment would allow a constitutional monopoly for the Issue 6 proponents has drawn scrutiny and sharp criticism.
  Some of the reasons offered by casino proponents:
  
• Ohio’s economy is faltering, and the prospect of up to 5,000 new well-paying jobs is particularly attractive for Wilmington, an area hard-hit by DHL layoffs.
  
• The casino would generate an estimated $200 million in tax revenue that would be split among all 88 counties in Ohio.
  
• Ohioan are already gambling, but they are taking the money out-of-state and away from Ohio’s economy. An in-state casino would keep that money in state.

Back to top

Ohio Will Vote on Casino Ballot Initiative on November 4
October 9, 2008

On September 25, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Bruner certified that MyOhioNow.com had gathered enough signatures to place Issue 6 on the ballot. Penn National Gaming had attempted to invalidate the signatures because MyOhioNow.com, the Issue 6 proponent, had failed to file forms with the state until April. Since the petition has been certified, Issue 6 will appear on the ballot. A plain language summary of Issue 6 can be found here.

Issue 6 would authorize a $600 million casino resort near Wilmington in southwest Ohio. The resort would include a 1,500 room hotel, conference facilities, a golf course, and restaurants as well as table games and slot machines. MyOhioNow.com says that Issue 6 would create roughly 5,000 jobs with an average salary of $34,000. Since Wilmington will be losing as many as 9,000 jobs due to the DHL closure, the casino could bring welcome relief to the local economy. Issue 6 proposes a 30% tax rate, with tax proceeds being divided among all 88 counties in Ohio.

Opposition to Issue 6 comes from three major sources. The first is “Vote No Casinos,” led by the Ohio Roundtable, an anti-gambling interest group which has opposed every gaming measure proposed in the last two decades on moral grounds. “No On 6” is the newest contender against Issue 6 and is led by Penn National Gaming, a rival casino group that controls Toledo Raceway Park and Argosy Casino. Argosy Casino is just 40 miles from the site of the proposed Ohio casino, and Penn National Gaming could stand to lose a substantial amount of business if Ohio casino-goers had an option to gamble closer to home. Penn National has stated that it is opposing Issue 6 because the measure would grant a casino monopoly and could provide a loophole for taxes if an Indian casino were opened in Ohio. The last source of opposition is a coalition of church leaders with plans to speak to their congregations about Issue 5, the payday lending ballot measure, and Issue 6.

Back to top

Police Close Akron Skill Game Parlor
October 9, 2008

Police recently shut down an Akron area skill game parlor on September 24, citing the parlor’s failure to obtain a city license and practice of awarding improper prizes. Police seized 44 skill game video machines as well as chairs and an unspecified amount of cash from the Pyramid in Summit County. Players and operators of competing parlors had previously complained that the Pyramid was offering gas cards. Under Ohio’s skill game regulations, prizes can be merchandise only and cannot be in the form of a gift card or gift certificate. Some skill game operators had questioned whether the regulations allowed gas cards, but it appears that the Ohio authorities have determined that gas cards are prohibited.

Back to top

Casino Ballot Issue Polling Indicates Surprising Support in Latest Survey
August 15, 2008

The latest Quinnipiac poll results show a somewhat surprising change of opinion among Ohio votes as it relates to the establishment of casino gaming in Ohio. From August 5-11, Quinnipiac University polled 1,342 Ohio voters and two of the questions focused on the likely ballot issue for the November election concerning the construction of a casino in Ohio. According to the survey results, those polled favored the construction of a casino by a wide 60-35 percent margin. This is in stark contrast to previous ballot initiatives to expand gaming in Ohio that were overwhelmingly defeated by Ohio voters.

To view the poll results, please use the following link. The gaming related questions are at the end of the poll (questions #23, #24 and #25)

Back to top

2007 Bing Receipts Strong
February 13, 2008

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that most charities conducting bingo games in Ohio operated on a profit margin of approximately ten percent in 2007, but some charities were able to declare receipts in excess of three million dollars. The most effective charities in the Cleveland area posted upwards of seventeen percent profit margins.

Back to top

Charges from Gambling in Liquor Establishment
February 13, 2008

A liquor permit holder was charged last month after investigators seized nearly $3,000.00 in cash and nine electronic devices believed to be gambling machines. The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Bradley Nails was charged with operating a gambling house.

Back to top

Bad News for the Eastern Shawnee
February 13, 2008

Last month, the United States Department of the Interior declined to accept land into trust for off-reservation gaming requested by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York. The Middletown Journal reported that the Tribe had filed a request to have the land taken into trust in 1998. Among other reasons for declining the request, the Department stated that the land was simply too far (more than 350 miles) from the Tribe's reservation.

Blake Watson, a law professor at the University of Dayton commented that the recent decision is a "death knell" for the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma's proposal to open an off-reservation casino in Ohio by the same process. Watson believes that the most recent decision clearly establishes that the Bush administration is unwilling to expand off-reservation gaming by the use of land trusts.

The process to place land in trust for off-reservation gaming is very long and complicated, however. It is almost certain that, by the time the Eastern Shawnee's proposal is complete, a new administration will be in office.

Back to top

Governor Proposes Keno
February 13, 2008

In his State of the State Address last month, Governor Ted Strickland proposed expanding the regulatory authority of the Ohio Lottery Commission to oversee video keno machines that would be available in bars and restaurants. According to the Toledo Blade, Strickland commented that there is a difference "between casino gambling or other kinds of gambling and the lottery, which is an activity that was voted on by the people and the people have supported for a long time."

Under Strickland's proposal, the devices would be operated by the state and all profits would be earmarked for schools. Ohio wouldn't be the first state to embrace Keno in restaurants and bars. Last year in Michigan, "Club Keno" generated more than $491 million, or 21 percent of the total Michigan lottery revenues. The Ohio Lottery estimates that its Keno program could earn up to $73 million in its first year of operation.

Back to top

Dann Sues Springfield Charity
February 13, 2008

The State of Ohio has filed suit against the Springfield Central Ohio Association for Children's Higher Education for allegedly misusing charitable bingo proceeds. According to Business First, the organization took in $3.2 million in bingo revenues and distributed only approximately $6,000.00. The association has since surrendered its bingo license.

Back to top