Slots Industry Saves Horse Racing

Revenue from slot machines and online slots is always in high demand. A multi-million dollar industry, both land and online casinos make up one of the most profitable markets in the world. The law often must intervene in order to regulate where and how those revenues will be spent. Sometimes, as in the case of Sweden’s state-run casino, Svenska Spel, the government controls every single aspect of the operation. Other times, the government only puts in their two cents when asked, officially, in the courts.

The U.S. Judicial System has come to the rescue once again, this time, aiding the very lucky Fairmount Park in Illinois. The way the law works in Illinois is that, currently, the four richest casinos in the state are required by law to pay 3% of their slot machine revenue to Illinois’ horse racing industry. The big controversy stemmed from the protesters who claimed that it was unconstitutional to require the richest casinos to do so, and even to regulate how they divided their income. So as dutiful Americans, they took it to court.

The first case was heard by a judge in Illinois, who initially went against the law and propelled the wildly controversial issue straight to the Supreme Court. The Court recently ruled that the law IS constitutional, and should be heeded. It ordered the casinos to follow suit and pay the racing industry the money they owed, that is, a cut from the slots revenue. So, as it happens, the slots industry has (involuntarily) saved the horse racing industry, and will continue to aid its survival.

Back to July 2008 Archive.