In 2013, lawmakers in Idaho authorized bets on historical horse races but the machines that have been installed at non-Indian facilities have raised concerns.
The so-called "instant-racing machines" are based on old horse races. But the manufacturers try hard to make them look and sound like slot machines and it's difficult to find out about the horses and the jockeys -- information that would otherwise be a part of a bet on a traditional race.
"The fact of the matter is, this was a classic bait-and-switch," Helo Hancock, the legislative director for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, told The Pacific Northwest Inlande. "We all got duped."
Top lawmakers agree and they have introduced a bill to repeal the historical bets.
Some are also concerned that the director of the Idaho Racing Commission, which regulates the machines, is a consultant for a company that promotes instant racing in neighboring Wyoming.
"There's a whole process for disclosing what could even be construed as a conflict of interest. That is what is expected from us. I expect the same from our state employees and our state agencies," Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill (R), who supports the repeal, told The Idaho Statesman.
The director, Frank Lamb, is leaving his Idaho job at the end of the legislative session.
But he didn't inform lawmakers about his dual role, Hill said, and the Idaho State Police, which oversees the racing commission, isn't commenting about the situation.
During a hearing last week about instant racing, Lamb told lawmakers that the commission was not a "cheerleader" for the industry, the Statesman reported. But testimony he gave in 2013 when the games were being discussed seem to portray him as an advocate.
"I can tell you since the inception of this in Arkansas, it has turned things around for Oaklawn Park," Lamb testified, the Inlander reported. "It is amazing, the transformation. I believe it can do the same thing here."
Get the Story:
When a Horse Isn't a Horse
(The Pacific Northwest Inlander 1/28)
Idaho racing head lobbies in Wyoming
(The Spokesman Review 1/28)
Idaho state senator wants ISP to conduct instant racing investigation
(The Spokesman Review 1/27)
An Opinion:
Aubrey Wieber and Bryan Clark:
Repeal of instant racing law would penalize businesses
(The Idaho Falls Post-Register 1/28)
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