Journalists’ Roundtable: 04-16-21: Gambling Bill Becomes Law, Sex Education Bill, Senate Finds Audit Location

This week’s Journalists’ Roundtable discusses the top issues of the week, including the passage of a sports betting law. They will also discuss a sex education bill, an election audit, and the candidacy of Tiffany Shedd for state attorney general. Guests include Jim Small of the Arizona Mirror and Steve Goldstein, host of KJZZ’s “The Show”

This week’s Journalists’ Roundtable covered:

• Gambling Bill Becomes Law
• Sex Education Bill
• Senate Finds Audit Location

Gambling Bill Becomes Law

Jim Small: “There was a book that went through the legislature that allows sports gambling and allows fantasy sports. Things we’ve seen attempts at over the years. I remember a decade ago there was an attempt to get some fantasy sports things through and the tribes, which have exclusive rights to gambling in Arizona, had really thrown some roadblocks to it and said they wanted to address it as part of the formal gaming compact and that was extended. Well, that’s what happened yesterday, as well. The governor announced basically the details of this gaming compact that has been negotiated for years and that everyone kind of knew there was an agreement or very close to an agreement and this sports gambling bill was really kind of the linchpin for it. When that bill went forward and got through the legislature, it enables the governor to both sign that and announce the agreement on this gaming compact. It extends tribal gaming for the next 20 years automatically and unless there’s going to be some changes to it, it automatically extends it 10 years past that. Really that brings Vegas-style gaming to Arizona. Now casinos here will be able to do all of those games that you couldn’t do here before where you had dealers in charge of those games, now suddenly you can have those.”

Steve Goldstein: “It turns out, this is going to shock you, in politics and government, money wins out. If there’s a way on the right to not raise taxes, let’s raise revenue this way. In the case of the Democrats, I think there was definitely a feeling of wanting to support tribal entities, wanting to keep it going. I think you’re seeing both sides of the aisle getting something out of it but I think ultimately what it comes down to is here’s an opportunity to get R’s and D’s and people in the middle can sort of come together on something that is not really controversial anymore. Surprising, but I think it really comes down to money and not wanting to raise taxes.”