The Ohio Roundtable, an advocacy group opposed to casino gaming, has sued Governor John Kasich, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the Lottery Commission and the Ohio Department of Taxation. The Ohio Roundtable alleges that offering video lottery terminals (VLTs) at Ohio’s horse racing tracks violates the Ohio Constitution and that voters should have the final say. It also argues that the deal struck in June between Governor Kasich and casino developers exceeded the governor’s authority. In all, there are 17 claims in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes a day after the State Racing Commission approved emergency rules that lay out the process for track owners to get VLTs up and running. The Commission’s goal was to expedite the process for placing VLTs at the racetracks. Without the emergency rules, the racetracks would have had to wait until the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review completed its process, which could take up to two-and-a-half months, before they could even apply for a VLT license.