The 2018 Ballot Could Change Gambling Measures

According to the Constitution of the United States, the gambling laws not specifically granted by Federal jurisdiction are something that each state needs to take care of on its own.

So far, only the state of New Jersey has been allowed to have online casinos, but only offered to people who are physically in its territories. Also, there is a similar situation in the state of Nevada, so, due to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, it is illicit for players anywhere else in the U.S. to gamble online.

The 2018 ballot could stir things up and lead to much needed changes in the states of Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, and Missouri.

Arkansas ‘Issue 4’

This extremely exciting new measure would in theory allow the authorization of new casinos in locations where there aren’t any right now.

A ‘yes’ vote ing the Arkansas Issue 4 would lead to an authorization of a casino in each of these counties – Crittenden, Garland, Pope, and Jefferson.

As of the time of this writing there have been nearly $5 million in spending associated with this measure, mostly by parties which have a direct interest in a positive outcome.

Florida ‘Amendment 3 & 13’

Voters in Florida also have a lot on their hands this year, as voting yes in of the Amendment 3 will actually give them the rights to decide whether they want to authorize casino gambling in their state. The spending for this Amendment exceeded $37 million at the time of writing.

Also, the Amendment 13 could be quite helpful in this matter, as voting yes in of it would lead to prohibition and banning of live dog races in Florida.

Idaho ‘Proposition 1’

Residents of Idaho need to deal with a similar situation. Namely, the Idaho Proposition 1 is designed to legalize the use of video terminals, so that people can bet on historical horse races.

This is also sometimes referred to as ‘instant racing’, and it has managed to generate spending of almost $3,5 million USD so far, although it’s fair to say that the spending against the proposition has almost reached a sum of $3 million.

Maryland ‘Question 1’

This state’s funding bill could lead to dedication of certain revenue from video lotteries to education as a supplementary form of funding, if it gathers enough yes votes.

Missouri ‘Amendment 4’

Last but not least, the Missouri Amendment 4 is meant to reduce the time required for a person to manage a bingo game as a member of an organization from two years to six months.

Also, if it gets full from the voters, it could remove the constitutional ban on different organizations that bingo games…

Closing Thoughts

All things considered, not all of these potential changes are huge, but it’s important to say that they could change the casino deployment in the United States in the next few years… How will your state vote? Post a comment below.