Tribes: Stop use of instant racing machines

COEUR d’ALENE — Four Idaho-based indian tribes sent a letter Tuesday to Idaho’s governor and attorney general asking them to put an end to “Historic Horse Racing Machines.”

The chairmen of the Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai, Shoshone-Bannock and Shoshone-Paiute tribes signed the letter to Idaho Governor Butch Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, “to end the proliferation of instant racing machines around Idaho, presented to lawmakers as ‘historical horse racing,’ because it is illegal under Idaho law,” the tribes said in a press release.

In 2013, the Idaho State Legislature authorized pari-mutuel wagering on previously-run horse races, but the tribes say machines that are currently installed were never seen by legislators during consideration of the bill.

That claim is disputed by proponents of the machines.

Since then, the tribes said, the machines have been installed at Greyhound Park in Post Falls, Les Bois Park in Garden City and an off-track sport bar in Idaho Falls, which has prompted tribal concerns over whether the machines are illegal.

“Let me get this straight,” said Douglas Okuniewicz, general manager of the Greyhound Park in Post Falls. “The entity that says it is not subject to any state regulation now wants to ask that same state to use its regulatory authority to put the regulated entity out of business so the unregulated entity can have a monopoly.

“I would say that is the worst case ever of the pot calling the kettle black except, in this case, we are not even a kettle,” Okuniewicz added.

Okuniewicz explained in a email response that the Greyhound Park is operating 35 games pursuant to Idaho law and under the regulatory supervision of the Idaho Racing Commission.

“The commission has the absolute authority to say any particular game we request to operate does not comply with Idaho law,” he said. “To the contrary, the commission has reviewed and approved these games.”

Okuniewicz said the tribes categorically object to any form of state regulation of their games — which the various manufacturers and the Indian casinos themselves openly call slot machines.

The tribes, on the other hand, say other states such as Wyoming’s Supreme Court have ruled the machines are “a slot machine that attempts to mimic traditional pari-mutuel wagering” and that the court was “not so easily beguiled” by the attempts of instant gaming proponents.

While that may be true, Okuniewicz said, the sate of Wyoming has since made the machines legal, along with at least three other states.

“All you have to do is go play them and ask yourself if you are actually betting on a horse race. It’s a hoax that has consistently been found illegal in other states and these machines will continue to make a mockery out of the law until Idaho does something to stop it,” said Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

Todd Dvorak, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said the office did receive the letter and is still trying to decide who has the authority to regulate the games.

Dvorak said determining who has the authority to regulate the machine is “still up in the air.” He referred The Press to a law that appears to indicate the issue could be under county law enforcement jurisdiction.

“Regarding authority — I think that the answer lies in Idaho Code sec. 31-2227,” Dvorak wrote in an email. “Primary responsibility rests with the sheriff and prosecuting attorneys of each of the several counties.

“We are reviewing the letter and will discuss its contents with the Legislature and the governor’s office,” he added.

Okuniewicz said he has a hard time seeing how the issue will interest the governor or the other elected officials that passed the historical racing law in the first place.

“If anyone is being duped, it is all of us that are being subjected to the fiction of calling a slot machine a ‘tribal video gaming device.’” Okuniewicz said. “We welcome, acknowledge and embrace the state’s role in regulating our activities.”

Gov. Otter was traveling with his communications manager on Tuesday, who did not return an email message concerning this issue.