Horse Racing Slots and Ohio Issue 3

Benefits and Setbacks to Racetracks From Gambling Casinos

Oct 15, 2009

Ohio's proposed Issue 3 has become sticky for the Buckeye State's governor and racetrack officials, following battles for slots and VLTs. Will track revenues increase?

In November, a proposition to allow construction of gambling casinos in Ohio's major cities will appear on the ballot. Ohio horsemen and former Buckeye State governor George Voinovich, currently a United States Senator on a path to retirement, have adamantly spoken out against the proposed legislation.

What Is Issue 3?

A proposal to construct gambling casinos in Ohio is now composed as Issue 3, scheduled to be sent to the populace for a voting decision on November's ballot. If approved, Issue 3 will give a green light to the building of "free standing" gambling casinos in Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati, and Columbus.

Governor Strickland and Former Governor Voinovich Scrap

In an article by AP Statehouse Correspondent Julie Carr Smith (Voinovich Fiery In Opposition to Slots) that appeared in the September 4 Northwest Signal newspaper (Napoleon, Ohio), Senator Voinovich vilified Ohio Democratic Governor Ted Strickland for the governor's signing of an Executive Order to station video lottery terminals at Ohio racetracks. As many as 2,500 slot-like machines per site were being scheduled for installation before The Ohio Supreme Court stunted the idea, stating that Gov. Strickland could not use the state's budget to authorize VLTs at tracks and the proposal was subject to a statewide vote of Ohioans.

Gov. Strickland said he was seeking to use VLTs to help offset the $800 million deficit in the state budget and he had wanted the Ohio Supreme Court to advise him if the addition of VLTs could fall under a general (constitutional) expansion of the Ohio lottery system. With the VLTs plan at an impasse, the governor stated he will delay consideration of a tax cut, rather than raise income taxes, or cut the education budget to solve Ohio's economic woes.

Senator Voinovich responded by saying it would have been "more forthright" to raise taxes, and he had done so himself to stop a 1992 issue supportive of the expansion of gambling,"the worst kind of greed".

Benefits of Instituting Gambling Casinos

Proponents of Issue 3 have made extensive claims in television ads that as many as 34,000 jobs would be created for the state of Ohio with the construction of the four planned casinos. Ohio is one of several major industrial states that has experienced devastating job losses in the recent national economic downturn.

Issue 3 supporters also state that tax revenues from gaming institutions would stimulate Ohio's sagging economy. At present, casinos established in Ohio's bordering states regularly draw Ohioans' betting dollars.

Drawbacks of Constructing Ohio Casinos

A statement from Lebanon Raceway president John Carlo that appeared in The Horseman and Fair World magazine September 23 (Ohio Supreme Court Rules VLTs Subject To Vote), revealed nonrefundable fees of $100,000 involved in applying for a VLTs operating license have already been paid by two Ohio racetracks -- Northfield Park and Raceway Park.

Those fees were paid before a participatory required deadline of September 15, before the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling stymied the governor's Executive Order for VLTs . The high Court's ruling included the statement that December 20 is the deadline for gathering 241,365 signatures needed to put the issue of VLTs on a future statewide ballot.

Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association general manager Jerry Knappenberger told The Horseman and Fair World magazine in a statement that appeared in an October 7 article (Ohio Horsemen Focus On Issue 3), "That (Issue 3) ballot proposal is not good for horse racing -- we get very little money out of it".

Stacy V. Bearse, president and CEO of Blood-Horse Publications, wrote in The Blood-Horse magazine "Final Turn" article "Crisis, Danger, and Opportunity" October 10, that the Thoroughbred racing industry is dry of capital, that the big four of "handle, new-owner investment, racetrack entrepreneurship, and credit" are dollar exhausted.

To alter this crisis, Bearse suggests an attempt to double the size of racing's followers, estimated by National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and CEO Alex Waldrop to be 7.4 million strong, could greatly increase track handle and purses, and the addition of a national racing commissioner could provide the "single point of management control" that has righted other financially insecure institutions.

Bearse noted a quote from a 1959 speech given by Senator John F. Kennedy: "When written in Chinese the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity."

The copyright of the article Horse Racing Slots and Ohio Issue 3 in Horse Racing is owned by BarbaraAnne Helberg. Permission to republish Horse Racing Slots and Ohio Issue 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.