Agreement reached on Oklahoma racino bill

Ron Jenkins

Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004 | 9:18 a.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An agreement to allow three horse -racing tracks in Oklahoma to install electronic gaming machines similar to those operated at tribal casinos was announced Tuesday by Gov. Brad Henry.

The racino plan will "provide a boost to the economy" by saving jobs, while producing extra revenue for education, he said.

The agreement was reached after months of negotiations between representatives of the governor's office, racetrack owners, Indian tribes and the horse industry.

Scott Meacham, state finance director and the governor's chief negotiator, estimated the plan could raise $71 million in its first full year.

Henry said the compromise plan will be put into legislation for action by the 2004 Legislature, which convenes Feb. 2.

He said the legislation "will save one industry, the horse industry, and allow the state to regulate and share in the revenue of another, tribal gaming."

A tribal gaming bill passed the Oklahoma Senate late in the 2003 legislative session, but died after opposition in the House, where Republican leaders said it would expand gambling and pave the way for Las Vegas-style gambling in the state.

Henry, a Democrat, said the plan "would not bring Las Vegas-style casino gaming to Oklahoma. It would simply address the same type of games that have been played at tribal casinos across the state."

Rep. Forrest Claunch, R-Midwest City, disagreed and said Henry is bent on allowing electronic games at horse racetracks that have been deemed illegal by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

"They are just slot machines. They are just Las Vegas-style slot machines," Claunch said.

Claunch, an ardent foe of gambling, said policy-makers should concentrate instead on ways to slow the expansion of what he labeled as "illegal" games being played at casinos.

"The state Senate will pass it in a breeze," he said of the latest gaming proposal. He said it would face a much tougher test in the House.

Charlie Wooden, an official with the Oklahoma Horseman's Association, said he was "skeptical" of the plan because his group was not a part of the negotiations.

Wooden said he was disappointed that the Fair Meadows racetrack, which has two race meets at fairs in Tulsa, was not included in the proposal.

Meacham said proceeds from the plan will likely go to a college loan program and to the House Bill 1017 Fund, which benefits public schools.

He said the electronic games that would be allowed at the racetracks are in "the gray area" as far as whether they are authorized under the regulations of the National Indian Gaming Commission.

He said he wouldn't classify any of the games to be allowed as slot machines.

The proposal, if approved by the Legislature and signed by the various tribes, would lead to the state having some regulation over Indian gaming for the first time. It would allow some state audits and independent audits, Meacham said.

As far as what the tribes are getting, he said: "I think it is more about protecting their revenue stream than anything else."

Oklahoma voters approved pari-mutuel horse race betting in 1982, but in recent years, the industry has been in decline, with purses and attendance dwindling at horse racetracks, including Remington Park in Oklahoma City.

Officials say New Mexico's racetrack industry also sagged in recent years, but was revived after passage of legislation to put the tracks and tribes on equal footing on electronic gaming.

Henry said he wants a similar turnaround to help the ailing horse industry.

"Oklahoma has gaming in more than 80 tribal casinos across the state. It's not going away. We can stick our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist or we can regulate it, produce some new funding for education and save our horse industry in the process," Henry said.

"I would prefer to take the lead and do something positive rather than sit idly by and watch Oklahoma lose tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in potential revenue."