A Slidell pastor is suing the St. Tammany Parish Council over its decision to ask parish voters whether a riverboat gambling enterprise should be allowed at a site along Lake Pontchartrain.
The Rev. John Raymond filed the lawsuit in the 22nd Judicial District, arguing that parish officials failed to abide by the state constitution in approving a November ballot measure. The proposition asks voters whether the parish should allow riverboat gambling at a docking facility near Slidell and along portions of the lake.
Riverboat gambling has historically been illegal in the parish, according to the complaint filed on June 30, and the parish has failed to abide by established state procedures to allow such gaming activities. Before the specifics of a riverboat gambling casino proposal are put to voters, several other prerequisites need to be followed, the lawsuit states.
First, the state legislature needs to approve riverboat gambling in the parish, and then the legislature must authorize a vote on parish-wide riverboat gambling, according to the complaint. Next, parish voters need to decide on the general question of whether they want riverboat gambling, and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board must sign off on the transfer of the gambling license from a shuttered casino in Bossier City to the St. Tammany Parish site, the lawsuit says.
None of these prerequisites has been satisfied, according to Raymond, who recently highlighted the downside of expanding gambling activities before the Parish Council. He also points out that voters living in other parts of the parish – who are less affected by potential problems associated with gambling, such as increased crime, suicide and bankruptcy incidents – are more likely to approve a voter referendum.
“The west side of the parish is incentivized by a 5 percent revenue share bribe without having to deal with the plethora of problems within the 10-mile epicenter of the casino, where it is proven the majority of the negative consequences will occur over time,” Raymond said in an email to the Louisiana Record.
The parish’s move to place the riverboat gambling measure on the ballot comes in the wake of the passage of House Bill 702, which provides an exception to the current ban on riverboat gaming along Lake Pontchartrain within St. Tammany Parish. The bill, which has been signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, allows such gambling activities if the Gaming Control Board approves and voters authorize such a casino in a parish-wide election.
The bill was passed as a result of backroom deals after being rammed through the legislature at the end of the 2021 session, according to Raymond.
“This reeks of ethical violations and illegal political antics like a Hollywood mini-series,” he said.