Federal judge denies request to block measure revoking Arkansas casino license

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge has denied an effort to temporarily block enforcement of a constitutional amendment Arkansas voters approved last week that revokes the state's license for a planned casino.

Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. on Tuesday night denied Cherokee Nation Entertainment's request for a temporary restraining order against the amendment, which took effect Wednesday. The amendment revokes the license the state issued to Cherokee Nation Entertainment for a Pope County casino.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment had filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the measure approved by voters on Nov. 5 violates its constitutional rights.

“We look forward to presenting the merits of our case to the court as the legal process moves forward," Allison Burum, spokesperson for Cherokee Nation Businesses, said in a statement.

Attorney General Tim Griffin said he appreciated the ruling and “will continue to vigorously defend” the state in the case.

Pope County was one of four sites where casinos were allowed to be built under a constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2018. Casinos have already been set up in the other three locations.

The lawsuit is part of a costly fight between the Cherokee Nation and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which had spent at least $30 million combined on the campaign over the ballot measure. The state Supreme Court last month rejected a lawsuit by the Cherokee Nation that sought to disqualify the measure from the ballot. The Choctaw Nation operates a casino near the Arkansas border.

“As Issue 2 took full effect today as Amendment 104, we trust in the validity of Amendment 104, and in the judicial process for a fair outcome for the voters of Arkansas,” Local Voters in Charge, the group that campaigned for the casino measure, said in a statement.

Marshall said he will set a date for a trial on the case over the measure's constitutionality in a later order.