Summary
The Ohio Supreme Court today, in a 6-1 decision, held that legislation authorizing slot machines at Ohio racetracks is subject to referendum.
Analysis
A plan to bring 17,500 video lottery machines (slots) to Ohio horse tracks could be in serious trouble following a ruling today by the Ohio Supreme Court. The law will be held in abeyance for a 90 day period while opponents attempt to collect over 241,000 signatures of Ohio voters. If enough signatures are collected, then the issue will appear on the 2010 November ballot.
Governor Strickland has promised to thoroughly review this decision. It is possible that the Governor could issue a new executive order implementing the slot machines on his own. However, such a move may not reassure investors nor please the Court.
Companies that would be likely impacted are INTRALOT which was slated to manage the slot machines for the lottery and manufacturers of slot machines like IGT, BLY, and WMS.
This author consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
