States want that easy to get money.
In about one month’s time, a number of state legislatures across the United States will address the issue of legalizing sports gambling. But in one state, Arkansas, the issue has been settled. On Election Day, voters in Arkansas approved a constitutional amendment that legalized all forms of betting including sports gambling in the state. That means Arkansas state regulators can begin accepting applications from two existing racetracks and two proposed casinos. One of the existing racetracks is a dog track owned by Jeremy Jacobs’ Delaware North, a Buffalo, New York company that owns the NHL’s Boston Bruins. Jacobs is considered the National Hockey League’s most influential owner. Southland Park Gaming and Racing in West Memphis, Arkansas is located near the Tennessee-Arkansas border. Delaware North spent $3 million in campaign financing pushing Arkansas voters to approve the measure.
In Florida, voters will decide on the future of gambling not politicians. That means that casinos and legalized sports gambling backers will to have get initiatives onto the ballot by going through the process of collecting signatures on petitions and hope they get enough validate names that will allow them to get what they want before voters for approval. Meanwhile in Louisiana 47 of 64 parishes or about 90 percent of the state population legalized a form of gambling, daily fantasy sports. The yes vote probably opened the door for Louisiana legislators to propose a legalized sports gambling bill. 2018 will end with legalized sports betting in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. It is expected that New York, Connecticut, Virginia, Ohio and Washington, DC will revisit legalized sports gambling once the 2019 legislative season begins. Utah is unlikely to even entertain a gambling notion. Sports gambling is here to stay.
