Ecuador’s Constitutional Court rejects casino referendum
Ecuador’s Constitutional Court announced that it had rejected several presidential proposals for reforms to the Constitution, including the popular consultation on the reopening of casinos. President Daniel Noboa had included the legalisation of casinos as part of the preliminary questions. However the Court found that the explanation behind the justification for the casino measure lacked clarity and did not meet constitutional parameters.
“The considerations (the pre-voter explanation) did not meet the clarity requirement and lacked a direct relationship with the consulted question, generating confusion among voters about topics for which they lacked sufficient information. The question was compound, as it included three distinct topics: reopening casinos in five-star hotels, the creation of the tax, and the specific destination of the collected funds. By forcing a block vote, it limited the voter’s freedom,” the court ruled
Last month Noboa proposed the return of casinos to Ecuador through a popular consultation scheduled for the end of the year. According to the proposal, casinos would only be permitted in five-star hotels, which would be required to pay the state 25% of their profits. Money generated by the industry would be used for funding programs to fight chronic child malnutrition and school meals.
Through the social network X, the Ecuadorian president stated that a “popular consultation will be held asking the people about issues that have been of popular interest and urgency for change for years.” Before the question reaches the ballot, it may undergo changes and has to pass through the Constitutional Court for it to be finalized.
The Constitutional Court of Ecuador rejected three of the seven questions that President Daniel Noboa presented. Among the rejected questions was one regarding the option to politically prosecute the magistrates of the higher court, while it approved two others.
Ecuador banned all types of gambling after a referendum was held under the administration of left wing populist Rafael Correa in 2010 who was president from 2007 to 2017. The casino issue, which was part of a number of often diverse questions put forward to the Ecuadorian people in May 2011, was approved by a small majority. While it was initially believed that the casinos would be given a further two years to recuperate some of their investment, the ban went into effect in March 2012. Before the ban around 160 gambling halls operated in Ecuador, employing more than 25,000 people
