CENTRAL OHIO -- A group of gambling opponents says it will file a lawsuit to keep slot machines out of Ohio.
The Ohio Council of Churches says it plans to join forces with other faith-based and anti-gambling groups to oppose Governor Ted Strickland's plan to use slot machines at seven Ohio racetracks to fill an enormous gap in the state budget.
The general assembly approved the governor's plan earlier this week as part of a massive budget bill.
"We stand before you to say it is morally wrong and politically untenable for these 72 individuals to reject the will of 3,350,000 citizens who voted no to predatory gambling," said John Edgar, the chairperson of the United Methodist Anti-Gambling Task Force. He was referring to the number of state representatives and senators who voted in favor of the slot machine plan.
Edgar called the plan "insidious" and predicted it would incur "millions in social costs."
Edgar says his coalition's lawsuit will challenge the constitutionality of the slot machine plan. Under Strickland's plan, the slot machines would be run by the Ohio Lottery, but Edgar says the state constitution requires lottery money to go to education, not the state's general fund.
"We are confident that this will be found to be unconstitutional on several grounds," he says.
The governor and the legislature are projecting $933 million in revenue from slot-machine gambling in Ohio.
The machines would be installed at existing racetracks around the state including, potentially, Beulah Park and Scioto Downs in the Columbus area.
The machines are expected to be in place and generating revenue by spring 2010.
Edgar says he and other clergy support reversing the tax cuts of the past five years in order to generate the revenue the state needs.
"We've been doing rollbacks in our income tax structure since 2004," Edgar says. "If we simply go back to the rates of 2004 if would raise an additional $2 billion for the current biennium budget."
The gambling opponents say the state lottery's Keno games have not produced the revenue that was projected and they don't believe the slot machines will either.
They also claim that at least one racetrack owner has said he will not let slots into his establishment until after Ohio voters decide the fate of full-fledged casinos Tuesday, Nov. 3.
For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement