Issue 6 is a Constitutional amendment that would allow one out-of-state casino operator to build a mega-casino in Southwest Ohio. But Issue 6 is a mess. It is filled with deception and loopholes that make it a bad deal for Ohio.
• Issue 6 doesn’t guarantee Ohioans anything. Even the sponsors of the issue admit that because of a serious loophole, there is no guarantee the operators will have to pay any casino taxes on profits raked in from a casino monopoly.
• Issue 6 prevents the state from providing meaningful regulation for the casino. While it calls for a state regulatory bureaucracy to be established after it is passed, there are no specific provisions for rules on who can get a casino license. It prohibits the state from regulating the hours of operation, the size of the casino and the types of games it can offer. I n fact, it specifically ties the type of casino games that may be offered to rules for the state of Nevada and states adjacent to Ohio. Out-of-staters – not Ohioans – will be making decisions for Ohioans on regulating the casino.
• Issue 6 eliminates any kind of local control on the casino. It prohibits the local community in Clinton County where it will be built from holding any kind of meaningful hearing or vote that would let residents and taxpayers decide whether or not they want a casino, and it severely restricts the communities in the area from exercising even their normal zoning procedures.
• Issue 6 would give the operators a Constitutionally-protected casino monopoly, with practically no accountability to anyone. The company that would likely operate the casino – an out-of-state firm that operates Indian casinos in other states – would get a total monopoly on casino gaming in Ohio – virtually for free. And they could take hundreds of millions of dollars in profits out of the state with no significant accountability to Ohioans.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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