New plan rekindles debate about slots

Instant racing would be included in a class of legal gambling.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Lawmakers are exploring a new style of slots-style gambling that they say would not require a constitutional amendment. The new effort just comes months after voters defeated a plan to expand gambling in Ohio for the third time since 1990.
Companion House and Senate bills, both with support from both parties, would allow instant-racing terminals to be placed at Ohio's seven horse tracks on which players could view and bet on thousands of already-run horse races.
Since winnings are divided among players rather than going solely into the pocket of a single winner, instant racing would be added to a class of gambling -- which includes horse racing -- that is already legal in the state, said state Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican sponsoring the House proposal.
"To the untrained eye it looks like a slot machine, but it doesn't play like a slot machine," Seitz said.
Instant racing is legal in two states -- Arkansas and Oregon -- and is under consideration in a handful of others, including California, Virginia, Nebraska and Maryland.
Well over half of Ohio voters defeated a proposal last fall backed by a group of racetrack owners and casino developers that would have allowed video slot machines at horse tracks and at two freestanding sites in downtown Cleveland.
What's expected
Seitz said he expects the Ohio legislation will move quickly after the two-year operating budget is approved in June. State Sen. Steve Stivers, a Columbus Republican, first introduced the idea in the Senate last month. His bill is before the Senate Finance Committee.
Rob Walgate, vice president of the Ohio Roundtable that has led opposition to previous slots proposals, said instant racing involves standing in front of a machine and betting against it individually -- making it an odds-based system not allowed without amending the constitution.
"Very little information is provided up front," he said. "It's not skill-based at all."
The legislation calls for a portion of the proceeds from the machines to be returned to racetracks for horse-racing purses, and a portion to go to the state's program that supports health care options other than nursing homes for senior citizens.
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