In December's referendum, Ecuador's constitutional court said no to the casino proposal

The question on reviving land-based casinos might still be included of the December vote, but not in its current form.
 Ecuador's casino vote
 Ecuador's constitutional court has turned down a recent question about restoring casinos that was supposed to be part of a December ballot.

 Ecuador President Daniel Noboa announced seven items that would be on the ballot in the next referendum on August 5.  The last one was about whether people would favour the reopening of land-based casinos.

 Ecuador is a little different because it has referendums rather often.  Questions might be about a lot of different things.

 The referenda let people have a say in important choices on things like defence, money, and criminal law.

 In 2011, a vote banned casinos, but Noboa's questions suggested restoring land-based casinos in five-star hotels, with a 25% tax.  This money would be used to pay for programs that provide school meals and fight long-term child malnutrition.

 Last Monday, though, the constitutional court said the query didn't meet its standards for two reasons.

 The first reason was that the preamble to the referendum question wasn't clear enough for people to understand, which would confuse voters because they didn't have enough information to answer correctly.

 The second reason the question was left out was that it was about three things: reopening land-based casinos, making a new gambling tax, and how the money from the tax would be used.

 Voters would have had less freedom to disagree on some parts of the proposed law if all three items were in one question.

 The constitutional court turned down the question as it is now, but the idea might yet be changed to make sure it fits within Ecuador's constitutional boundaries.

 The court noted, "With these decisions, this body makes sure that proposals for changes to the constitutional text and those for referendums are clear and loyal to the voters."

 Another setback for land-based casinos in Ecuador
 Noboa has talked of reviving casinos in Ecuador before, so this isn't the first time.

 Last January, he got rid of a question for a 2024 referendum that asked again if casinos might be reopened.

 Noboa said that the president thought it was wrong to include the issue because public instability was growing in Ecuador. Other questions on tackling organised crime stayed on the vote.

 Ecuador did make improvements to its internet industry in 2024, though. For example, 65 companies registered in the first half of the year to pay the new 15% gross revenue tax, which went into effect on July 1 of last year.

 Executive Decree No. 313 says that players' gains are now also subject to a 15% withholding tax.