Senators have had lots of questions about whether the “instant racing” machines are actually “pari-mutuel” betting, or pooled betting, as on horse races. Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, an attorney, cited an Idaho Supreme Court decision, and said, “There has to be some skill, some judgment, horsemanship and not chance. I’ve never been to Double Down, which is right down the street from my house, nowhere near the historical track at Sandy Downs. I live on the west side of Idaho Falls.” He asked Paul J. Schneider, the chairman of the Idaho Racing Commission, “In your position, in your experience, do you believe that these devices require skill, do they require judgment and do they require horsemanship? I have none of those. So if I went in there, you could assure me I would never win? Is that correct?”

Schneider responded, “No, that’s not correct,” but he said, “The same thing happens at the live racing.” With a 10-cent “super-fecta,” he said, betting on a group of horses, “You can win a lot of money with no skill whatsoever.” When Davis asked Schneider to “describe the skill, the judgment” needed to play “instant racing” machines, Schneider said, “I have not played these devices.”

Doug Okuniewicz , manager of the Greyhound Park Event Center, said he wasn’t aware of definitions of pari-mutuel betting that required skill, judgment or horsemanship. In response to questions from other senators on the State Affairs Committee, he said, “In my view I don’t see that as being necessary in Idaho. I think once these wagers are pooled, we’ve met the hurdle for being pari-mutuel.”

He added, “I’d like everybody please to remember that a repeal of historical racing is not only going to kill live racing in Idaho, It’s going to close my business’s doors. ... I think it’s going to discourage other companies from moving here for fear of having the rug pulled from under them.”

Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, noted that the bill doesn’t deal with live racing, nor do the machines in question.