Bingo and Lotteries (Update)

In Texarkana, the Arkansas-side has the market cornered on booze and cigarettes. The Texas-side has bingo and the Texas Lottery, so you have remember what part of town you're in when you pick your poison in my town.

Times may be a'changin with the passage by the people of Referred Constitutional Amendment No. 1 in November, 2006. As soon as the legislature enacts enabling legislation, bingo will be a reality in Arkansas. I understand several fraternal organizations have already jumped the gun and are hosting games now. Lori and I went over to Texas a couple of weekends ago to play a couple of games -- lots of fun.

The position we must advocate is that the charities must be the beneficiaries of any bingo/raffles and not mega-casinos that are likely to be watching us over their shoulder during this process. I've been thrown in the middle of this issue primarily because of my proximity to legal bingo. We are currently studying the fiscal impact of legalized bingo, and several different interests are studying draft legislation now. We'll also have to determine the amount of payouts, the number and frequency of games allowed, and what agency/commission will be governing the bingo. Sen. Shane Broadway is helping usher in a consensus between several different groups over in the Senate on this issue.

Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is preparing the details of his lottery proposal to benefit education in Arkansas. I'm meeting with him in a couple of hours on this issue. This proposal is probably facing an uphill battle in the House State Agencies Committee, where it must be assigned.

There are pros (more $$ in the state's coffers) and cons (amounts to another tax on the poor/increased number of people addicted to gambling) to a lottery in Arkansas, but it's hard to take the moral high ground in Texarkana when a lottery is already legal in half our city. I'm looking forward to seeing a true fiscal impact study on how Halter's proposal will benefit public education.

Update: I had a good visit with Lt. Gov. Halter on his lottery proposal this afternoon. He laid out a very articulate plan, and he's convinced that an Arkansas Lottery will bring upwards of $100 million once it gets on its feet. The project will fund college scholarships and teacher salaries and won't go towards a bureaucratic black hole. Several other states similar to us in size, including Kansas and Iowa, are pulling in similar numbers. I'm a little worried about getting the necessary 11 votes in the House State Agencies Committee, and after a quick review, we may have 10. The bill must be filed by February 7th because of the quick deadlines on constitutional amendments, and its passage on both sides of the capitol would allow it to be voted upon by the people.