Today controversial new gambling machines will debut at Kentucky Downs racetrack. The gambling expansion has been praised by some, but criticized by others who think that the games are illegal. Challenges to the legality of the machines is currently in the appellate court.
The state of Kentucky only allows pari-mutuel gaming. Slot machines and other types of casino games are banned by law. The new machines at the central Kentucky racetrack are slot-like instant racing games. The machines simulate real races from the past, some reaching back several years. The games do not give any indication of what race it is. There are no dates or horse names. Players then pick a random horse, knowing nothing about it, and then win money based on how it places.
To some, it’s a fun way to bet money on horse races without having to actually be at the horse races, which is kind of odd for being at a racetrack. For others, it is a blatant way to sneak slot machines into the track. The rows of machines at Kentucky Downs, with their bright lights and sounds, make it look like a casino. According to some opponents, that is what Kentucky Downs has become.
Kent Ostrander, executive director of the Family Foundation, which opposes the machines, says that it is “just an underhanded way to get these machines in the state even before the Court of Appeals have made its final ruling.”
The Kentucky Racing Commission ruled that the instant racing machines are a type of pari-mutuel gaming, not slot machines, and are therefore allowed in the state of Kentucky. Two different groups challenged that ruling and the appellate court has not yet ruled on those challenges. Kentucky is now only the second state to try instant racing machines, with Arkansas the first.
Tags: Horse Racing, Kentucky gambling
