$30m campaign funding for Arkansas casino licence initiative is record breaking

A record amount of campaign funding has been raised for and against Issue 2, the Arkansas ballot initiative that will decide the fate of the Pope County casino licence. Contributions have so far surpassed $30 million (£23.1 million/€27.6 million).

Stakeholders have now poured more than $30 million into opposing campaigns. According to the Arkansas Ethics Commission, $17.6 million of that has come from Local Voters in Charge. That coalition is led and funded by the Choctaws. Two opposing groups – CNB’s Investing in Arkansas and the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee – have contributed $12.5 million and $776,575, respectively.

The amount of money spent on Issue 2 relative to other campaigns is striking. In 2022, the Arkansas Advocate presented a graph of the six most expensive initiative campaigns in state history to that point.

At that time, the most expensive was a recreational marijuana initiative from that year that generated $12.4 million. Second place was the $9.7 million effort to legalise casinos in 2018 that indirectly spawned Issue 2. The Pope County licence battle has easily trumped both totals combined.

Arkansas’ ballot was also set to include marijuana and abortion measures this year, two hot-button issues in the US. But both have been defeated by legal challenges, allowing Issue 2 to grab the spotlight.

Once shunned altogether, gambling initiatives have now become extremely high-dollar affairs. This election cycle also features a highly contested sports betting initiative in nearby Missouri. Those campaigns have generated some $55 million in contributions, the most ever for that state as well. In the US as a whole, the most expensive campaign effort ever was the $450 million fight to legalise sports betting in California in 2022 that resulted in an overwhelming defeat for both sides.

Proposal would take away a licence

Unlike most gambling-related ballot measures, Issue 2 seeks to rescind a licence that was already awarded. It would also stipulate that any future expansion be approved by voters. Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) was awarded the casino licence in question on 27 June by the Arkansas Racing Commission. The tribe seeks to build its $300 million Legends Resort & Casino about 75 miles northwest of Little Rock.

Removing the Pope County casino license from the Arkansas Constitution is on the ballot this November. Issue 2 also would require local voter approval if voters statewide pass a new amendment creating additional gaming licenses.
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State voters in 2018 legalised casinos in four counties and the other three are already in operation. The Pope County casino saga, however, has been mired by years of setbacks and roadblocks. Another developer was originally granted the licence in 2019 but was later denied by the state supreme court.

Ever since CNB was brought in as the new developer, the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma has emerged as its chief opponent. The Choctaws operate several casinos along the Oklahoma-Arkansas border. After the measure survived legal challenges earlier this month, it became clear that voters would have final say.