Just yesterday we told you about Gov. Chris Christie signing off on the plan for the state of New Jersey to exercise financial oversight over Atlantic City. Said plan authorized AC to raise the ceiling on allowable property taxes, costing the average homeowner an extra $157 over the coming year. This, after Gov. Christie declined to join iMEGA and state senator Ray Lesniak in a bid to bring sports betting revenue to the state’s treasuries. No word on whether Christie asked those homeowners which option they’d prefer. Government of the people, by the people, yada yada yada…
But the citizens of two other states have been asked as to how they’d prefer the state meet their budgetary commitments. In Texas, a survey of 725 adults revealed that 54% favored raising funds by taxing casino gambling, even though casinos are currently verboten by the state’s lawmakers. Asked specifically on the issue of gambling, unlimited casino action was favored by 29%, while 21% were okay with gambling in ‘existing or pre-approved locations’. Only 22% were in favor of enacting total gambling prohibition.
Moving further west, a survey of 1,003 adult Arizonans showed that the most popular revenue-raising idea was allowing casino gambling at state racetracks. The problem with implementing such a scheme is that it would conflict with gambling agreements the state has with local Indian tribes. Then again, it’s not like it would be the first time a North American government had broken a treaty with First Nations folks.
