Colorado Racing Commission approves Instant Racing machines

Chris Lehourites

Thursday, May 11, 2000 | 10:28 a.m.

LITTLE ROCK - Instant Racing, the new game at Oaklawn Park and Southland Greyhound Park, has won the endorsement of the state Racing Commission.

The 5-0 commission vote Wednesday to approve the use of Instant Racing machines affirmed a temporary OK given the games last winter.

The machines allow people to play a game and bet on replays of races at video terminals. They have been in use since the commission approved a 120-day temporary period Jan. 13.

But some have raised questions about the legality of Instant Racing.

"It is so obviously a lottery that I don't see how any objective person looking at them could say otherwise," said Larry Page, executive director of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council.

Page said a person using the short-play option could play 12 times in one minute. "When I can play 12 times in a minute, my friends, that's a slot machine," Page said Wednesday.

Casino-style gambling and lotteries are illegal in Arkansas.

"Clearly, it's not horse racing conducted in a reasonable manner. Without question, these violate the state constitution," Page added.

Portland Police Chief Lavan Lawson has filed a lawsuit claiming that Instant Racing machines violate the state constitution. The suit argues that the machines are not pari-mutuel betting, as allowed by state law.

Pari-mutuel betting pits gamblers against each other. And Oaklawn Park general manager Eric Jackson, who came up with the idea of Instant Racing, said the game does just that.

"We've attracted some people to the race track who have never been there before. That's really the promise of Instant Racing," Jackson said. "We believe it is helping us get new customers."

The terminals have been a success at Oaklawn, Jackson said. He also said all the major tracks in the country - and several from abroad - have expressed interest in the machines.

"It has gotten the attention of the racing world," he said.

Instant Racing has also benefited Arkansas. The machines have created new jobs at Oaklawn and the horsemen at the park get a percentage of the money being bet, Jackson said.

Page said he was also worried about the effects gambling has on the bettors.

"The more opportunity we have to gamble ... the more people that are going to become addicted and become hurt," Page said.