The Pope County casino saga continues after Arkansas residents voted to void a casino license reserved for the Cherokee Nation.
The state-wide amendment recently passed in Arkansas repealed the casino license intended for Pope County and required new casino licenses to be issued only after a countywide election. The amendment, known as Issue 2 on the November ballot, was widely supported by Arkansas voters.
The Cherokee Nation was awarded the license in June 2024 by the Arkansas Racing Commission after several previous attempts to issue the license were met with resistance. The Cherokee Nation also challenged the constitutional amendment before the election, but the state’s Supreme Court voted to allow the amendment on the ballot.
The casino license that was recently revoked was initially approved by voters in 2018 when Amendment 100 passed, which authorized four casino licenses to be issued in the state. The other three state-issued casino licenses are operating; however, the Pope County license has been tied up in the judicial system since 2018.
The legal complaint issued by the Cherokee Nation says, “To put it simply, the voters had no idea, by looking at what was in front of them in the voting booth, that they were revoking CNE’s license or nullifying a government contract.”
The Cherokee Nation recently purchased 325 acres north of Russellville and intended to build a 50,000-square-foot facility with more than 1,200 slots, a 200-room hotel, and an outdoor concert venue. Agreements were also in place that would benefit the community by funding charitable organizations. The passage of the new restrictive casino bill will nullify those previous agreements.
Can I Gamble Online In Arkansas?
Arkansas does not authorize local casinos to operate online; however, online casinos are available in the USA.
Since there are no local, state, or federal gambling laws that make online casino games illegal, residents and tourists to the state can legally access online gambling sites operating from outside the country. Popular online casino games include baccarat, blackjack, keno, roulette, slots, video poker, and specialty games.
You can also find numerous live dealer casino games online in Arkansas, some with minimum buy-ins as low as $.50.