The Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) on Thursday (Aug. 28) lost yet another bid to open a casino in Pope County with U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr., upholding a voter-approved amendment blocking a casino license in the county.
Almost 56% of Arkansas voters on Nov. 5 approved Issue 2, a constitutional amendment – Amendment 104 – that would require local voter approval in a countywide election for any future casino licenses while also repealing the state’s authority to issue a casino license in Pope County and revoking the existing Pope County casino license.
CNB, which operates casinos through its Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE) subsidiary, immediately filed a lawsuit seeking to block the amendment, claiming it violated several constitutional protections, including due process, the contracts clause, the takings clause, and the bill of attainder clause.
“Amendment 104 doesn’t bar CNE from operating all its casinos,” Marshall, with the Eastern District of Arkansas, noted in his ruling. “CNE runs eleven of them. Amendment 104 didn’t stop CNE from operating entirely; it took away one of its casino licenses. … Plus, though it would be another long and winding road, CNE still has a way to open a casino in Pope County through another constitutional amendment and a local vote.”
“I applaud today’s ruling, which sided with the State of Arkansas and the Arkansas Racing Commissioners on all issues,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement.
Marshall’s ruling left open the ability for the CNB to seek legal remedy under the takings clause.
“We are reviewing all aspects of the judge’s ruling and considering next steps in the legal process,” Allison Burum, CNB spokesperson, said in a statement.
In 2018, voters statewide approved licenses for casino operations in Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson and Pope counties. Three casinos are now operating under those licenses at Oaklawn Racing & Gaming in Hot Springs, Southland Casino Hotel in West Memphis, and Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff.
The Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) in June 2024 issued the casino license in Pope County to CNE. The action followed several legal moves since 2018 between CNE and the Choctaw Nation that, through numerous legal actions and ARC decision changes, stalled casino construction in the county.