Voters decided to give themselves control of gambling in Florida with the passage of Constitutional Amendment 3.
The amendment achieved at least 60 percent of votes during the November election, and will soon be enshrined Florida’s Constitution.
The amendment gives voters the exclusive right to choose whether a casino can open in the state and whether dog tracks or horse tracks can expand gaming.
Here, card games, casino games and slot machines are categorized as casino gambling. Amendment 3 takes this right to casino gambling decisions away from the state legislature, which has failed the past several years to reach an agreement on the issue.
Big backers of Amendment 3 include the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Disney, which have spent nearly $40 million campaigning for the change.
Those opposing the amendment include owners of dog tracks and horse tracks because they will need statewide voter approval for adding or expanding casino gambling at each track.
The amendment passed Tuesday night despite widespread opposition from most newspapers around the state. Editorial boards saw the amendment as a good way to give voters more control over casino gambling but also said the amendment would only benefit larger companies that want to limit competition.
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