Race Track Uses Video Games for Gambling Instead of Slots

Oaklawn, a thoroughbred racing track in a resort town in Arkansas (Hot Springs) has wanted casino gambling brought in to salvage some money being stolen from bordering states which have casinos at their tracks. Since this request was denied, they got a little creative and installed video game machines called Instant Racing. These pari-mutuel games are based on the out come of previous races and a win “is determined by correctly guessing the outcome of a race that is unknown to the player until after the selection is made”.

A small clip of a race is shown on the screen with wheels looking like slot machines spin. In a way it is like a multiplayer game because in Instant Racing, the players compete against each other. The first player to correctly guess the outcome of the race wins the pool – which is almost like a bunch of people sitting around and picking races at different tracks only electronically, and the first one to pick the winner gets the money, unlike convention betting where many people win by picking a winner.

Over the past two years at Oaklawn races track, $225 million was bet via the game and the money generated not only has boosted the purses the horse wins, but has also provided the funds to fix up the track and expand the grandstand. This brings more people to the track, and more horsemen from around the country which in turn helps the industry as whole out considerably.

Kentucky is also considering casinos for the state, with race tracks being able to offer another form of gambling other than watching the pretty horses run. While KY officials are leaning towards actual casinos like neighboring Indiana – if it falls through, officials at Kentucky’s two largest tracks (Keeneland and Churchill Downs) might do the same thing as Oaklawn – install video game machines. Although this course has yet to be pursued, KY tracks are keeping an eye on Arkansas’ to see if the trend continues.

John Forgy, who is an attorney for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority is unsure as to whether such a game would be allowed under Kentucky law, but to those who oppose casinos in the state (trust me, there are TONS of them here) Instant Racing would be great way to increase the existing pari-mutuel offerings at any KY track, especially Ellis Park and Turfway which do not get the crowds that Keeneland and Churchill Downs do – nor the big name horses or races. If they were to install these games, it would generate larger purses just like at Oaklawn thus helping out the state and the men and women who make their living racing, breeding, and selling racing stock.

While it would be strange for me to walk into Keeneland and see video games to gamble on, it would be even stranger to see slot machines desecrating its hallowed halls. I mean, I love video games and I love horse racing but I would rather watch it live than play the horses through a machine – but at the same time, if I had to pick between that and a slot machine, the former would win heads over tails.

Via: The Courier Journal (Louisville, KY)