No Online Betting for Texas
Sept 24, 2013 20:38:03 GMT -5
Post by Jon on Sept 24, 2013 20:38:03 GMT -5
Churchill Downs Inc. loses effort to overturn Texas online gambling ban
Written by
Gregory A. Hall
The Courier-Journal
A federal judge in Texas has ruled against Churchill Downs Inc. in its challenge of a Texas law that bans online gambling offered by Churchill’s TwinSpires.com.
TwinSpires had been taking bets from Texas residents during the lawsuit, but will stop beginning Wednesday, Churchill spokeswoman Courtney Norris Yopp said in a statement.
An appeal is planned, she said, adding “We ... are optimistic that our legal arguments will prevail.”
The dispute goes to a key part of Churchill’s diversification beyond racetracks. The company started TwinSpires in 2007 to take wagers by phone and over the Internet.
The Texas dispute stems from the Texas Racing Commission's recent efforts to enforce a law that requires betting on horse racing to be done in person at a track. The 1986 law was revised in 2011 to explicitly ban Internet wagering.
Churchill argued that the “in-person” requirements are a violation of the U.S. Constitution's interstate commerce clause.
But Judge James R. Nowlin rejected that argument.
“Churchill Downs and other entities like it do have the option of reaching Texas bettors via the simulcast system that Texas law sanctions,” he wrote.
It also prevents even Texas-based wagering companies from accepting bets online, Nowlin said.
Written by
Gregory A. Hall
The Courier-Journal
A federal judge in Texas has ruled against Churchill Downs Inc. in its challenge of a Texas law that bans online gambling offered by Churchill’s TwinSpires.com.
TwinSpires had been taking bets from Texas residents during the lawsuit, but will stop beginning Wednesday, Churchill spokeswoman Courtney Norris Yopp said in a statement.
An appeal is planned, she said, adding “We ... are optimistic that our legal arguments will prevail.”
The dispute goes to a key part of Churchill’s diversification beyond racetracks. The company started TwinSpires in 2007 to take wagers by phone and over the Internet.
The Texas dispute stems from the Texas Racing Commission's recent efforts to enforce a law that requires betting on horse racing to be done in person at a track. The 1986 law was revised in 2011 to explicitly ban Internet wagering.
Churchill argued that the “in-person” requirements are a violation of the U.S. Constitution's interstate commerce clause.
But Judge James R. Nowlin rejected that argument.
“Churchill Downs and other entities like it do have the option of reaching Texas bettors via the simulcast system that Texas law sanctions,” he wrote.
It also prevents even Texas-based wagering companies from accepting bets online, Nowlin said.
