The Coeur d’Alene Tribe Argues Gov. Butch Otter Waited Too Long to Veto the Instant Race Machine Bill
The Idaho Supreme Court continues to deliberate on a petition by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s filing on whether Governor Butch Otter vetoed a gaming ban back in April 2015. According to the tribal gaming authority, Gov. Otter (R) waited beyond the 5-day limit to overturn a ban on “Instant Racing” machines.
The filing by the Coeur d’Alene is the latest in a complicated series of legal and political cases involving Instant Race gaming in the state. Slot machines are illegal in Idaho, so no sort of gaming machine was considered legal in the state for decades. In 2013, the Idaho legislature passed a law making “Instant Race” gaming machines legal.
How Instant Racing Works
Such machines are not like traditional slot machines. Instead, they allow gamblers to wager on historical horse races, which are shown on a video monitor after a wager is made. For two years, instant race gaming machines were considered legal in the state.
Over that time, a number of anti-gambling groups argued that the instant race gaming machines were too similar to slot machines. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe was one of those groups. After two years of lobbying, the Idaho legislature banned instant race machines in the state. The Republican majorities in both houses voted comfortably to ban instant races.
Dispute over Butch Otter’s Delay
Of course, that bill needed to be signed into law by the governor of the state, Butch Otter. At first, it apppeared as if Gov. Otter had little interest in such a bill. Then, he had a change of heart and vetoed the bill. “Instant race” gaming remained legal, regulated, and taxed. The governor has not elaborated on why he chose to veto a bill pushed by his own political party, but he might not see much of a connection between slot machines and horse racing machines. When Gov. Butch Otter or one of his people were asked for a comment, neither were prepaped to give a comment.
The Coeur d’Alene says that Otter’s veto was illegal, though. The tribe, which owns a land-based casino in the state, claimed that Otter waited until the time elapsed for proper signage of the bill. Idaho law requires a governor to deliver his decision to veto to the State Senate within 5 days. If that does not happen, it is considered invalid.
What an Idaho Gaming Commission Would Mean
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is likely to oppose the creation of an Idaho Gaming Commission. Such an organization would imply the state’s desire to expand gambling, which often happens when a state faces a budget crisis or wants to raise funds without cutting services or raising taxes.
Tribal/Private Gaming Interests Clash
In Florida, the Seminole Tribe currently opposes the expansion of gambling with two integrated casino resorts in South Florida. Two multinational corporations, the US-based Las Vegas Sands Corps and Malaysia’s Genting Group, are speculated as the likely recipients of those licenses. The Seminole Tribe currently has a monopoly on banked games (player versus dealer games) in the State of Florida.
Earlier this spring, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians opposed the expansion of gambling in Alabama, which wanted to create a state lottery and allow slot machines (video lottery terminals) in the state’s private-owned racetracks. Robert McGhee, the president of the tribe’s gaming council, gave an impassioned speech in the Alabama legislature about how expanded gaming might lead to problem gambling. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians owns three casinos in Alabama.
California Tribes Battle on iGaming
In California, several initiatives by state lawmakers to legalize and license online poker have stalled because of conflicting tribal interests. The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians objected to the inclusion of “bad actors” in any online poker industry in the state, claiming companies which defied the US edict against online gambling (UIGEA) should not be allowed to compete in the state.
Everyone know whom the Pechanga and Agua Caliente were targeting. PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the world and a dominant competitor, has a deal signed with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The three large Los Angeles-area brick-and-mortar poker rooms–the Commerce Club, the Bicycle Casino, and the Hawaiian Gardens Casino–also agreed to partner with PokerStars and its allies. The Pechanga knew any combination which included PokerStars would dominate the market, so the tribe and its allies competed the only way they could: in the legal and politcal field.
Why the Legislation Stalled
Eventually, Caesars Entertainment, which partners with Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians’ on a Southern California Harrah’s Casino, partnered with the Rincon Indians, Northern California’s United Auburn Indian Community, and San Diego’s Pala Band of Luiseno Indians on a similar corporate deal. Caesars and its partners joined with PokerStars and the Morongo Indians to support legislation. Gaming experts say it won’t matter. One state official, who spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on condition of anonymity, said Pechanga had too much political clout in the state for the alliance to succeed.
The official said, “Without Pechanga, there will be no bill.”
Another anonymous California state official, when asked about two competing sets of legislation, only could muster, “It’s complicated.”
Thus, California’s online gambling laws have been stalled for two years. No one seems capable of breaking the deadlock, because the dozens of tribe cannot agree on a common policy. A conference held in early-June 2015 does not seem to have resolved the issues.
Such is the way of the gambling industry, which is big business like any other commercial endeavor. Lobbyists, lawsuits, and political alliances are the stock-in-trade of any industry, especially one with such potential for controversy. People might not like it, but politics and business is intertwined. Like political power, economic clout is probably best dispersed among as many people as is natural, just, and right. Thus, an expansion of gambling might allow more players on the scene, to keep one set of gaming interests from dominating the scene in Idaho.
