Constitution
All Bets Off For Idaho Horseless Racing
September 10, 2015 
The Idaho Supreme Court Thursday issued an order compelling Secretary of State Lawrence Denny to certify the Idaho Legislature’s repeal of the so-called “instant racing” law which permitted the use of what most people recognize as slot machines.
What this means is Gov. Butch Otter’s veto of the repeal was invalid due to late filing with the legislature.
“This wasn’t horse racing, it was slot machines,” Representative Phylis King Told The GUARDIAN. King was one of the two-thirds majority of both legislative houses who repealed the law allowing video slot used at Three tracks in Idaho, including Les Bois Park which is owned by Ada County.
Idaho State Police oversee the Horse Racing Commission and Col. Ralph Powell told the GUARDIAN, “The process is in the works to shut down the video racing.” He said the department was coordinating with the Secretary of State to confirm the repeal is certified as law. “The mechanics of the shutdown has begun,” said Powell.
Click here for the OFFICIAL SUMMARY of the Supreme Court decision.
For several years the GUARDIAN posted numerous stories about the slot machines and directly contacted officials at Ada County and the state, but until the legislature finally saw the light, our pleas were ignored.
Attorney fees were awarded to the Coeur d”Alene Indian tribe which was the plaintiff in the case, adding to the many thousands of dollars of public money used to defend anti-gay marriage, illegal contracts, and other legal issues ultimately overturned by courts.
link to previous RACING POSTS.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Sep 10, 2015, 4:04 pm
We should make everything that doesn’t harm others or the environment upon which we all depend legal, and have a book burning party using all the existing law books. It’s ridiculous to parse out which forms of gambling are legal, and which are not.
There are so many laws now that they say the average citizen commits 3 felonies a day. Rest assured though, if you get caught, you’ll enjoy huge fines and being entangled in the legal system for years, but if the rich folks get caught, they’ll not spend a day in jail.
Sep 10, 2015, 4:18 pm
Any one that saw the instant racing machines knew they were nothing more than a slot machine. The “historical race” lasted for maybe 2 seconds. Then you hit the button and you are on to the next one. You are just betting on a number not a race.
If you go down the slippery slope of trying to save a dying sport like horse racing you are opening up a can of worms.
Why not Idaho City??… We really need to get money to survive after the fire. The town is dying… Why not the Idaho Vandal football team? They aren’t winning games and a little extra money sure would help. Could hire a better coach! …. Why not have gambling so it will reduce our taxes and solve all of problems like the lotto did?
Let the legislators man up and pass a legal gaming law if they want to go this way. Don’t let a few rich folks that have a hobby of racing horses save their hobby and not save a town that is in need of help.
Sep 10, 2015, 7:19 pm
Laws are law; rules are rules. Something the Guv likes to overlook when it is convenient to him. Expensive to the tax payers, including those who have kept voting for him.
Sep 11, 2015, 1:44 am
I’m betting on the lawyers winning big! Again
Sep 11, 2015, 5:21 am
J Smith. I agree. However, we need to get government (Ada County) out of the entertainment business also. And we need to hold Otter accountable for his horrible management.
Sep 12, 2015, 3:23 pm
Why does the state care if people play slot machines or not? I suspect the impetus for this came from the casinos on Indian reservations and cactus Pete’s. They simply didn’t want the competition.
An entity that runs a lottery or two, which is gambling, shouldn’t be telling people how they can gamble,
Sep 16, 2015, 9:08 am
Sorry for those who lost their job because our elected leaders believe their moral positions against gambling should be codified and our own liberty reduced.
Whether or not the machines were legal is an issue, but the greater problem is our leaders telling us gambling is bad, prohibiting us from doing it, unless it is the state owned monopoly called the lottery, which the state actually advertises and encourages us to gamble in.
Sep 27, 2015, 2:39 pm
The indian tribes that have gambling in Idaho, seemed to have the biggest problem with the govener’s veto. I wonder if it was done as it was on purpose. It’s saddens me to think that a north Idaho indian tribe has so much energy and money to spend on challenging a governors veto, that doesn’t directly affect them. They have their money making casinos in most states, whether gambling is legal or illegal in that state, as they are a sovereign nation. We don’t challenge there decisions. Someone forgot to tell them they lost the war.. Our governments fund so much for these tribes, the rest of us don’t get that kind of support from our government. Correct me if I am wrong most states have lottery, that is also gambling.
Sep 27, 2015, 3:09 pm
By the way I need to add that the Idaho Lottery has electronic lottery machines in various establishments in town that also simulate a slot machine. There is definitely something wrong with this whole picture.
Sep 27, 2015, 3:13 pm
By the way I might add that the Idaho Lottery has machines in establishments that most definitely simulate Slot Machines.. There’s obviously something wrong with this whole picture.