Issue 6

I've been struggling with what to do about Issue 6. I'm a poker player, although I've never set foot in a casino and I'm not sure having one in Ohio would cause me to jump up and go to one.

The Buckeye Institute goes a LONG way towards helping me make my decision with this release and report:

Columbus – A report issued today by the Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, found that Ohio taxpayers could forfeit nearly $1 billion in revenue with the passage of the casino gambling ballot amendment, State Issue 6. Report author and Buckeye Institute Adjunct Scholar Jeffrey Hooke called State Issue 6 “a $1 billion giveaway to wealthy individuals.” The full study is available online at http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/stateissue6.pdf (PDF).

“The right to open a casino in Southwest Ohio would be worth $1 billion if this right was offered at a public, competitive, open auction,” Hooke’s analysis found. “In contrast, the referendum grants the right to operate for a modest $15 million fee, which is refunded upon the casino’s start-up, so the license is essentially free. A difference of $1 billion in public revenues is not negligible, particularly as the state needs revenues.”

“Just like the proposal casino backers offered in 2006, this plan falls short of a good deal for Ohio taxpayers,” Buckeye Institute President David Hansen said. “The price just isn’t right for taxpayers.”

Hooke’s study reported that if State Issue 6 were approved, the casino license holder could sell the license for a profit immediately. As an example, he cited the recent sale of two gaming licenses in Pennsylvania after legalization in 2004. Illinois and New York are presently auctioning gambling licenses, Hooke noted. And, the federal government routinely auctions licenses for oil exploration, timber-cutting and communication spectrum.

Further, the increase in casino gambling tax revenue will be offset, by a reduction in lottery tax revenue, Hooke found. He cited expert presentations made to the Maryland, Massachusetts and New York legislatures show decreases in lottery revenue when new casinos open in a market. In New York State, lottery sales in Bronx and Westchester Counties dropped $23 million or 3 percent, with the opening of the Yonkers racino.

Issue 6 was poorly constructed and I don't think there is a way to fix it once it is enshrined into state law.

I welcome opinions from the vast WMD audience...