Amendment 68 Would Allow Casino-Style Gambling at Arapahoe Park near Denver
Colorado voters will decide this November whether to approve casino style gambling for Arapahoe Park, a Denver horse racing track. If approved, the measure will approve two other future locations to be built in the future. When all three racetracks are finished, the state is expected to raise up to $114 million a year for the Colorado public school system.
Proponents and opponents of the horse racing bill have spent a combined $33 million to see their message is heard by the people of the state. Supporters of the Denver racetrack proposal have raised $16.8 million to convince voters horse racing will help fund schools by boosting tourism, improve local economies, and increase the percentage of the state budget which pays for public schools.
$16.1 Million Spent by Political Opponents
Opponents of horse racing have raised a similar amount of cash ($16.1 million) to upend the racing initiative. They want the electorate to know that gambling is an unreliable revenue source. During recessions, gaming venues lose up to 50% of their revenues, because people eliminate disposable costs first.
Opponents also say Amendment 68 will hurt the mountain casinos, because gamblers will gravitate to Arapahoe Park in Aurora instead of the mountain resorts. Colorado casinos have been some of the biggest spenders in the bid to defeat the racetrack initiative.
Arapahoe Park Information
Arapahoe Park is owned by Twin River Worldwide Holdings out of Rhode Island, which has spent significant money to see the initiative succeed. The out-of-state location of the ownership group has come under fire, because opponents have suggested profits will leave the state. Supporters have countered that most advantages accrue to the state of Colorado, and having a steady interstate ownership group is a plus for the project.
A spokeswoman for Arapahoe Park told the Greeley Tribune that racetrack betting would be a significant part of a plan to fund school systems in the state. Becky Brooks, speaking on behalf of Arapahoe Park, said, “We have constantly cut back on our education funding. The $114 million that this would put into education is not going to solve the problem, but it’s a first step.” The spokeswoman pointed out few other options exist to fund schools, “So let’s be creative about this. And this is a way of addressing that.”
Colorado Education System
During the Global Recession, Colorado schools were defunded by the amount of $1 billion. Ever since that time, educators and administrators have dealt with shortfalls, while Colorado’s national scores have dipped. The Colorado education system is in desperate need of funding, but voters have shown a consistent disinterest in raising taxes to fix the problem.
In 2013, the Colorado electorate voted overwhelmingly against a $1 billion tax increase to fund Colorado school systems. Without increased taxation as an option to solve budget concerns, the state decided to put to voters the idea of building racetracks.
Other attempts have been made to shore up the gap in funding. In 2012, voters approved a plan to increase revenues for education through the sale of medical marijuana. Those
Colorado Association of School Boards Opposes Measure
Jane Urschel of the Colorado Association of School Boards said her organization disapproves of the gaming measure because it goes against the values teachers and parents try to teach students. Urschel said, “If we were to take this money, it would be contradictory to the message we’re trying to send students that gambling and drug use is not something they should pursue.”
Democratic Seneator Pat Steadman agrees. Steadman says the measure tells people “tax the other guy, tax the sinner…That’s the deceptively enticing thing about this measure. It really invites citizens to walk away from our shared commitment to public education.”
Given that the Republican Party appears to be backing the racetrack approval vote, that could bode well for this particular referendum. For the past couple of decades, Colorado has been a battleground state, with roughly the same number of Democrats as Republicans. Because this is the 6th year of President Barack Obama’s term in office–and the sixth year mid-terms typically favor the opposition party–it is thought GOP candidates have an advantage in most battleground states this year. If so, more voters could be turning out who support Republican issues, so the Colorado election’s racetrack question might lean towards approval.
