Idaho Senate panel votes to repeal ‘instant racing’

BOISE - After a two-day hearing that included heartfelt pleas from people involved in Idaho’s horse racing industry to kill the bill, the Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee today instead approved legislation to repeal the law that led to slot machine-like “instant racing” machines being installed at three Idaho locations, including the Greyhound Park Event Center in Post Falls. Horse industry backers said the gambling machines are the only way Idaho’s dwindling horse racing industry will survive, particularly now that betting on horse racing has competition from tribal casinos and a state lottery. But there was only one “no” vote on the Senate State Affairs Committee today on SB 1011; it came from acting Sen. Kimberly Johnson of Caldwell, who’s filling in for ill Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, and who noted she has a potential conflict of interest because she’s involved in the horse industry. Immediately after the committee’s vote, Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, released a letter he and three other North Idaho lawmakers sent to the Idaho State Lottery director challenging the Coeur d’Alene tribe’s gaming machines at its Coeur d’Alene Casino, suggesting they may be illegal. “Since slot machines are clearly not allowed in Idaho, we respectfully request that you review for compliance the electronic games in use at all Idaho tribal casinos including the Coeur d’Alene Casino,” Nonini said in the letter, which also was signed by Reps. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d’Alene; Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens; and Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay. Helo Hancock, legislative liaison for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, who hadn’t previously seen the Feb. 9 letter, said, “I would say Sen. Nonini apparently hasn’t taken a look at federal laws, hasn’t taken a look at the gaming compacts, hasn’t taken a look at Proposition 1 or years of court history if he’s making accusations like that.” “It’s sad to see a state senator attacking the largest employer in his district because he’s on the other side of an issue,” Hancock said. “It seems pretty reckless, but not surprising.” The Coeur d’Alene Tribe proposed SB 1011 to repeal the 2013 law that authorized betting on “historical horse racing” in Idaho, saying both it and state lawmakers were misled, and instead of a new form of simulcast betting, the law led to slot machines. Senators on the committee agreed. “I do feel that what was represented is not what was installed” said Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa. “The focus of the machines is not the horse race. … Call it creative marketing, call it whatever you want… You cannot under the Constitution make whatever you’re doing look like a slot machine.” Melissa Bernard, CEO of Intermountain Racing in Idaho Falls, told the committee, “Some may not like the looks of our terminals and say they look like a slot machine, but there’s no law against good marketing and packaging and offering a good player experience.” She said, “My company followed the letter of the law and implemented a business model that’s good and sound for Idaho. … We invested millions in this business.” Bernard said, “As a business owner in Idaho I’m being bullied by special interests.” The senators asked Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane to respond to questions about the legality of the machines. He said, “We were shown machines in 2012 which we reviewed and issued a legal analysis saying that the machines we were shown in 2012, in our estimation, met the requirements for pari-mutuel wagering in Idaho. The machines that have been installed at this point are not the machines that were given to our office to review.” “The machine that we reviewed showed a race – showed a horse race,” Kane said. “You watched the race and found out if you picked the right one or not. It was a pretty straightforward, simple set-up.” The “instant racing” machines look like slot machines, with spinning reels, lights, music and buttons. Kane said in 2008, his office was asked to review whether “virtual horse racing” would be legal in Idaho, and concluded that it wouldn’t - it would violate the Idaho Constitution. In 2012, he said, “The approach was narrowed.” He noted that the 2013 law authorized only “historical horse racing.” “I don’t see any authorization in the code for ‘instant racing,’” Kane said. A question for lawmakers is “whether what the Legislature authorized in 2013 is actually what has been installed at this time.” He said, “The statute you adopted granted extremely broad authority in rule-making to the horse racing commission.” Louis Cella of Race Tech LLC, the company that developed the machines, told the Senate panel on Monday that “instant racing” and “historical horse racing” are one and the same. The Senate committee’s vote today sends the repeal bill to the full Senate for a vote. If it passes there and in the House and receives the governor’s signature, the machines now in use in Idaho would become illegal as of July 1. Feelings were running so high after today’s hearing that in the marble hallway outside the Lincoln Auditorium, Idaho ranching icon Harry Bettis, in a white cowboy hat, approached the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s lobbyist, Bill Roden, who had given the closing statement in favor of the bill, and loudly called him a “damn liar,” amid other comments. Roden walked away before Capitol security arrived. “He was trying to get me to punch him, but I’m smarter than that,” Roden, 86, said afterward. He said the two also had a “shouting match” last year. Bettis, 80, is one of five owners of Les Bois Park in Boise, which offers hundreds of the instant racing machines. In today’s testimony, the president of the company running the park said if instant racing is repealed, Les Bois Park will close.