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Schiavoni: Let voters decide fate of sweepstakes parlors
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
A state lawmaker is developing a potential ballot issue to allow Ohio voters to decide whether sweepstakes parlors should be allowed to continue operating.
Sen. Joe Schiavoni, a Democrat from Boardman, said he has asked the state’s Legislative Service Commission to draft the potential constitutional amendment on the issue, with hopes of introducing legislation in the near future.
The amendment would require super-majority votes in the Ohio House and Senate to qualify for the November ballot. Voters would then have the final say.
“It would give the ultimate decision to the voters whether or not they wanted to change the constitution to legalize them,” Schiavoni said. “If you’re going to call it gambling, that’s the only way that you can do it.”
He added, “Let the people decide if they want to regulate, shut them down, whatever. If you’re going to call it gambling, then is has to be a constitutional change. ... To allow them to continue to operate in the current state that they’re in with no regulation? I’m absolutely not in favor of that.”
Schiavoni offered legislation last session that would have required sweepstakes parlors to obtain licenses, post game-winning odds and meet other regulatory requirements.
He began work on the new ballot-issue language before an announcement by the Republican leader of the Senate earlier this week.
Senate President Keith Faber said he intends May votes on bills that would extend a moratorium on the opening of new sweepstakes parlors and, ultimately, law changes that would ban their operation.