Reprinted from Harness Tracks of America Executive Newsletter
Stories around the nation today are announcing that racing has lost its exemptions in the House version of the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. The American Horse Council does not agree. Although Reps. Goodlatte of Virginia and Tauzin of Louisiana have struck a compromise with new language, the AHC thinks racing is safe with it. The compromise says Internet gambling is prohibited except for "any otherwise lawful, state-regulated pari-mutuel wagering activities on live horse or dog racing or jai alai conducted on a closed-loop, subscriber based service, provided that the type of wagering has been authorized by the state."
The AHC says it believes this language protects the wagering activities that the industry has been offering for some time, and that it would allow the continuation of interstate and international simulcast wagering. Rep. Tauzin thinks the burden will rest on racing to convince courts that what we’re doing is what currently meets his compromise description.
With the Justice department disagreeing with racing’s interpretation that task may prove to be difficult. If, bottom line, we wind up shut out from the Internet and its huge impact on worldwide communication, our worst fears -- expressed consistently since Kyl arrived on the scene -- would be realized. If the Goodlatte/Tauzin compromise passes the House as expected, and significantly changes racing’s status, it would seem that resurrection of the exemptions in House-Senate conference are our last hope.
Given the fierce political pressures now involved, that possibility may be difficult. Racing gambled on compromise and may have lost; if so, it faces the possibility of gambling in the courts, with the outcome uncertain as well. Where that path leads could be fraught with more danger. Racing is likely to wind up wishing it was back where it used to be, building state by state without federal intervention and oversight.