Voters have the chance to approve a constitutional amendment in November that would allow a casino to be built where state Route 73 meets Interstate 71.
Issue 6 will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot as a referendum that would allow the construction of one casino in Clinton County, Ohio.
If voters pass the bill, the casino will be located between Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton and will require a private investment of $600 million for the construction, according to My Ohio Now website, the group planning the project.
Lakes Entertainment Inc., a gaming and entertainment company, will be responsible for building the casino.
Casino gambling is currently illegal in the state of Ohio, so the petition for the bill requests an amendment to the Ohio constitution to lift this ban. The issue will allow only one privately owned casino to operate in Ohio.
The petition also requires the casino operator to pay gross casino taxes of up to 30 percent of the revenue earned.
The taxes will be used first to pay for gambling prevention and treatment centers.After money is paid out for that, 10 percent of the remainder will go to Clinton County and 90 percent will go to other Ohio counties, based on population.
In order for an issue to appear on the ballot, a minimum of 402,275 certified signatures must be submitted to the Secretary of State. According to
Kevin Kidder, Media Coordinator of Ohio Secretary of State's Ballot Board, the issue was submitted to the board with 480,003 certified signatures.
Kidder explained how a protest was lodged to stop the issue from appearing on the ballot, but was denied by the Secretary of State.
"There are groups that are for and against the petition," Kidder said.
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Two groups against the issue include "Vote No Casinos" and the "No on 6" advisory committee.
According to Andy Bowers, treasurer for the "No on 6," the cons of the issues outweigh the pros.
"The issue provides one company with a monopoly over casinos in Ohio," Bowers said.
"There is no guarantee that the company will pay the taxes since the petition only states that it may pay taxes.
There is no guarantee that they will bar criminals, and there is no guarantee that the state can regulate operations of the casino."
According to Brad Pressman, co-founder of My Ohio Now, the casino will employ approximately 5,000 residents and return about $200 million dollars in taxes to the community annually.
Pressmen said the construction of the site will also employ approximately 2,600 workers, with the casino paying taxes to schools and local, county, state and federal governments. Pressman said the casino will only have a positive impact on the surrounding community.
"The casino will also have a resort, spa, golf course, and convention center," Pressman said. "It will be a great place to go for the weekend."
Pressman said Ohioans should take advantage of having a casino in-state, since so many residents travel to neighboring states to gamble.
Pressman said only the casino will be paying 30 percent tax on its revenue for the state, while the hotel and convention center will not be sharing any of its revenue with the state.
The group is expecting the casino to gross about $240 million annually for the state.
"We really want people to vote yes on issue 6 so Ohio can stay competitive in the economy," Pressman said.
However, the likelihood of getting a majority yes vote on the issue is uncertain.
Bowers said the same issue regarding casino gambling has been on the ballot three different times in Ohio and Ohio voters have voted it down those three times.
Bowers said this proves the issue is not beneficial for the state.
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