House Speaker Robbie Wills must think a lot of people read the Arkansas Blog. I’m flattered by the attention. So let me clarify for him what I’ve been saying.

When the lottery amendment was on the ballot, I argued at great length with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter that one of the reasons I planned to vote against it (and did) was that I knew it would open the door to much more than scratchoff tickets and weekly lottery drawings. Halter said he was sure the legislature would not let that happen.

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The legislature did precisely as I feared once voters ended the constitutional prohibition on lottery gambling insofar as a state lottery was concerned. Under terms of a little repealing clause, the legislature exempted the state lottery from a number of gambling prohibitions. The lottery, through this change, can offer roulette. It can offer sports wagering. It can offer poker games. And lots, lots more.

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