The Arkansas Wins In 2020 Inc. committee has announced it submitted more than 97,000 registered voters’ signatures to the secretary of state’s office in hopes of placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot allowing 16 more commercial casinos statewide. The minimum number of signatures required was 89,151.
The Arkansas Gaming Commission would award licenses no later than June 1, 2021 to various companies in Benton, Boone, Chicot, Garland, Greene, Jefferson, Johnson, Miller, Nevada, Sebastian, St. Francis and Washington counties, plus two casino licenses in Crittenden and Pulaski counties.
The amendment states one-time casino license fees would be $250,000. Net casino gaming receipts would be taxed at 13 percent on the first $150 million and 20 percent beyond that; 55 percent would go to the state’s general revenue fund, 15 percent to the host city and 15 percent to the host county. The amendment would allow wagers on sporting events.
In November 2018, Arkansas voters approved Amendment 100, adding expanding gambling at racetracks in Hot Springs and West Memphis, and allowing two new casinos; one is under construction in Jefferson County and another is on hold in Pope County.
