Legislation | Litigation

Non-Indian racetracks cut machines and workers after ruling

Monday, September 14, 2015

A row of historical horse racing machines at Greyhound Park and Event Center in Idaho. Photo from Facebook

Two non-Indian racetracks and another non-Indian facility in Idaho stopped operating so-called "instant" racing machines after Secretary of State Lawerence Denney certified a ban on the devices on Friday.

Denney had been refusing to certify Senate Bill 1011, which banned the machines, because Gov. Butch Otter (R) claimed he vetoed it. But the Idaho Supreme Court sided with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and determined that the veto was invalid.

As a result, the three facilities that were operating a total of about 250 machines shut them off on Friday. Two business owners said they laid off more than 90 employees.

In 2013, the Idaho Legislature authorized bets on historical horse races. But lawmakers felt they were duped because the devices that were installed at the three locations resembled slot machines that are not legal outside of tribal casinos.

Get the Story:
Track officials 'devastated' by ban on horse racing machines (AP 9/12)
Les Bois Park lays off 80 employees after court ruling (KTVB 9/11)
The end of instant horse racing devistates Idaho's equine industry (The Idaho State Journal 9/11)

An Opinion:
Editorial: Idaho’s ‘instant racing’ is over: Amen (The Spokesman-Review 9/12)

Idaho Supreme Court Decision:
Coeur D’Alene Tribe v. Denney (September 10, 2015)
Summary of Coeur D’Alene Tribe v. Denney (September 10, 2015)