In addition to making their choice between John McCain and Barack Obama, US voters are also set to make decisions in referenda on a range of local issues this November. Seven states will vote on issues directly concerning gambling, but those measures to expand state gaming industries will have to overcome fierce opposition from well-organized anti-gambling groups in the run-up to election day.

Analysts and casino operators have welcomed new decisions by voters in Colorado’s three gaming towns to increase casino stakes and loosen regulations on games and opening hours.

While Colorado State Lottery revenues dwindled last year, the state’s numerous casinos have enjoyed a steady growth as a result of Amendment 50. In the meantime, a legal battle surrounding the status of poker rages on with the Colorado Supreme Court to decide in due course.

Ameristar Casinos has seen an immediate impact from the removal of outdated loss limit rules in Missouri in November, with table game drop boosted by 12 percent year on year in December.

The Michigan House of Representatives will tomorrow hear a proposal to ban smoking in public areas, while Senate lawmakers have put forward tougher legislation that would lead to a statewide smoking ban being voted on in a referendum next year.

Regulatory reforms passed this time last year in Colorado have transformed business at Ameristar’s Black Hawk property, with the gaming firm’s third quarter results revealing cashflow up nearly 60 percent and net revenues rising over 24 percent compared to the previous year period.

Ameristar Casinos experienced a steep fall off in operating profits in the third quarter as the first effects of the recession took hold, despite an extensive cost-cutting programme and the fruits of a full quarter of trading from the company’s East Chicago property.

A judge in Sacramento has ruled that four tribal gaming compacts signed between Governor Schwarzenegger and Indian tribes in mid-July must be put before Californian voters in referenda before coming into effect.

Colorado's casinos could become smoke free from 2008 if the governor chooses to sign into law a bill already passed by both houses

US casino companies, as they struggle to emerge from the economic downturn, face a flood of potentially devastating new competition as state governments expand gambling to fill cash-starved coffers.