Arkansas anti-gambling leader says Instant Racing devices are slot machines

The Oaklawn Park horse track at Hot Springs and the Southland Park greyhound track at West Memphis are running field tests on the computer-based Instant Racing machines, which offer opportunities to bet on already-run races.

But Larry Page, executive director of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, said the Instant Racing machines were just slot machines disguised as pari-mutuel betting. Under Arkansas law, slot machines are illegal, while pari-mutuel betting is legal.

Page said he visited both tracks to watch people play the Instant Racing machines.

"I timed a player who, by selecting the quick-pick option and choosing to view the finish of each race rather than the entire race, was able to play the machine up to 12 times in one minute," Page said.

That means someone could play the machine up to 180 times in a 15-minute period.

"Does that sound like wagering on horse races?" Page asked.

Rather than use statistics to select three horses in a race, a player can opt for the quick-pick button. In that case, a computer will select the horses. That makes it pure-chance gambling, Page said, the equivalent of pulling the handle on a slot machine.

The Arkansas attorney general's office has been asked for an opinion about the legality of the machines under Arkansas law.

Attorney General Mark Pryor has reviewed a proposed opinion and returned it to assistants who developed it, Pryor spokesman Michael Teague said last week.

Teague said Monday the opinion would be issued soon, but he declined to be more definite. He said lawyers in Pryor's office were still debating some details of the opinion.

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