State lawmakers consider allowing bets on horses over the Internet
SPRINGFIELD -- A man paces in the dining room at Arlington Park, nursing a beverage while staring at the lineup of horses on the video screen as race time approaches.
Instead of walking up to the betting window, however, he pulls out his BlackBerry and sends his picks to an out-of-state Internet bookie -- who likely has agreed to share some proceeds because he does not have to pay state taxes, or shares to horsemen and tracks, out of the bet.
Welcome to the 21st century of horse track betting, where more than 20 states allow outlets to offer advance deposit wagering, or ADW, a style of betting over the Web or telephone.
Illinois isn't one of those states, and track officials such as Roy Arnold see a squandered opportunity.
"I can't pick up my track and move it," said Arnold, president of Arlington Park. "We've been a good corporate citizen. The world's changing. We need to adapt our business model to meet that changing world."
It's actually unclear whether Internet betting is illegal under Illinois law, but tracks aren't willing to press their luck because a 2000 attorney general opinion noted state law doesn't expressly authorize it.
Now some lawmakers are trying to help Arlington and other tracks by setting up a licensing system for ADW vendors, with profit-sharing guidelines to keep more betting money in Illinois and ensure owners, horsemen and the state get their share.
"It's not something that we love to see, but we have no choice but to get it for our tracks," said Rep. Bob Molaro, the Chicago Democrat pushing the idea in the House. "We have to do this to survive."
The effort has been shot down before because of lawmakers' fears about gambling expansion, fears that could be heightened in an election year. Critics say it's the wrong move to open to addicts the possibility of 24-hour-a-day betting in Illinois at just the click of a computer mouse.
"It is a huge expansion of gambling," said Anita Bedell, executive director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems.
The state Senate approved the idea two weeks ago. Now Molaro hopes to sell it in the House by noting the state's horse racing industry is long overdue for a break.
Horse racing revenues statewide have plummeted since the advent of riverboat casinos in the early 1990s.
State government collected just less than $9 million in horse racing tax revenue last year. That's down 14 percent from 2006 and only a fraction of the $40-plus million a year collected throughout the 1990s.
Recent efforts to expand gambling here have included perks to revive the horse racing industry, including allowing slot machines at the tracks. But those expansion efforts have stalled repeatedly.
Advocates hope ADW can help start a comeback.
They estimate Illinois misses out on $50 million to $100 million a year in wagers because out-of-state Internet sites lure lucrative bettors here to open pre-paid bank accounts and bet on Illinois races.
More than $1 million in taxes and at least $15 million in purses and track commissions is lost to these out-of-state bettors, track owners say. Owners, horsemen and the state miss out as well.
Arnold, at Arlington Park, said allowing ADW should make horse racing more accessible for new fans, helping the tracks rebuild the support base they've lost in recent years.
"The more you can interact with your customers ... that's got to be a good thing," Arnold said.
But some obstacles remain.
Along with complaints about gambling expansion and its effects, at least one group of horsemen also isn't yet sold on the idea.
Steve Brubaker of the Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association said his members worry the new betting system might not bring in new patrons and could let track owners take even more purse money at horsemen's expense.
"We're really not sure what it means," Brubaker said. "We have to make sure the deal is right."