Ohio Senate Approves “Slot” Machines

The Ohio Senate has passed what is called an Instant Racing machine, but residents aren’t buying it. They say that the Senate has passed what is essentially a slot machine, and they are up in arms about it.

Ohio voters have been very clear that they do not want slot machines at their racing tracks, or really pretty much anywhere. They voted to allow Cleveland to bring in two slot machine casinos as they needed the money for economic growth, but they were specific about the fact that only Cleveland could have the slot machines.

Now with the Senate approving these other slot machines people are angry. However, lawmakers say that they are not slot machines and that they are simply electronic horse racing machines. They say that they will allow the tracks to bring in more money, which they need in order to stay competitive with purses in the horse racing industry.

The House of Representatives now has the bill, and voters are anxiously waiting to see if they will approve it as well. Some think that it is a good alternative to actual slot machines. They say this way people who don’t like the slot machines are kept happy, because they are not slot machines, and the tracks have an additional way of making money. Estimates have the amount that would come in from the machines in the hundreds of millions.



Back to June Archive or Slot Machines