The results of gaming referendums across the US were mixed in terms of expansion, with Florida and Rhode Island voting for and Massachusetts and New Jersey voting against.
In the most watched referendum, Atlantic City casinos will keep their casino monopoly as voters rejected by 71 to 24 per cent the proposal to allow two casinos in the northern part of the state.
Twin River got good and bad news. The Rhode Island company won approval to move the Newport News licence to Tiverton and expand from slots only to a full casino, but now has a harder path in Colorado to get slots at its Arapahoe Downs near Denver.
While not a gaming referendum per se, Colorado’s Amendment 71 will affect the casino industry by making it more difficult to amend the state constitution.
That will challenge any future effort by Twin River to get slots at Arapahoe Downs in Aurora as it has twice before, thus protecting the casinos of Black Hawk and Cripple Creek an hour away.
On the other hand, it also makes it harder for casinos to liberalise rules, such as lifting the $100 bet limit.
The new standard requires petitions with signatures of at least two per cent of voters in all 35 state senate districts to make the ballot. A referendum would then need a 55 per cent majority to pass.
In Florida, Jacksonville approved a referendum by 54 to 46 per cent to allow slots at pari-mutuels, which would mean at BestBet card club.
However, whether BestBet could actually get slots will depend on a current state Supreme Court’s ruling on whether voters have the authority to approve slots. That ruling won’t likely come until next year.
Massachusetts voters defeated by 61 to 39 per cent allowing a second slot parlour licence in the state. The referendum was intended to allow a casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere. Wynn had opposed the referendum as a competitor to its under-construction Wynn Boston Harbor.
In New Jersey, Atlantic City will keep its nearly 40-year monopoly on casinos as voters rejected the referendum, by 78 to 22 per cent, authorising two casinos in North Jersey.
However, AC casinos could still face new competition as bills have already been introduced to allow slots at Meadowlands and Monmouth Park racetracks.
In Rhode Island, Twin River owners got the green light from voters to build a $75m casino with an 84-room hotel in Tiverton. Twin River plans to shut down its Newport Grand slots parlour and move the licence to Tiverton. That referendum passed 55 to 45 per cent.
Source: Fantini’s Gaming Report
