Bets on N.Y. ponies are off

Premier New York off-track betting at the Coeur d’Alene Casino ended Tuesday following intervention by that state’s racing association, acting on a criminal indictment targeting organized crime figures.

The New York Racing Association ended betting and broadcasting arrangements with 10 off-track outlets, including the Coeur d’Alene Casino, after the indictment alleged such locations were being used for high-volume betting by associates of the Gambino organized crime family.

The alleged scheme involved off-site facilities paying a “commission or rebate” for each bet placed by the illegal gambling operation being run by the crime family, which extended lines of credit to gamblers, the indictment alleges.

The Coeur d’Alene Casino, owned by the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe, and its tribal officials are not accused of criminal wrongdoing.

But effective Tuesday, the tribe’s casino near Worley was unplugged from a satellite feed linking it to three premier race tracks. Other casino operations weren’t affected, and off-track betting will continue from other states.

The satellite plug was pulled by the New York Racing Association, which operates three thoroughbred racing tracks in that state – Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont Park.

The New York association controls simultaneous satellite broadcasts of races to off-site locations, including the Coeur d’Alene Casino, where betting occurred.

The horse-racing feed was pulled the same day the Coeur d’Alene Tribe handed out more than $1 million in gambling-generated revenue to local school districts.

“We’ve had the signal from them for several years,” said Bob Bostwick, a spokesman for the Coeur d’Alene tribe and its casino. “There are races all over the country and it’s a popular sport.”

The tribal spokesman said its casino would accept off-track bets by telephone, but only from betters with “notarized identities” and personal identification numbers.

Bostwick said he couldn’t provide the percentage of revenue generated by the off-track betting at the Coeur d’Alene Casino, but said it was a popular feature.

“We have those safeguards in place and we know who our players are,” Bostwick said. Off-track customers at the Coeur d’Alene Casino are provided “player incentives,” Bostwick said, when asked about the indictment’s allegations of rebates, commissions or kickbacks.

Bostwick said Coeur d’Alene tribal leaders “are in communication” with New York Racing Association officials, “and we are fairly confident, with the quality of this place, that we will work this out with them.” But he declined to speculate when or if the off-track betting link would be re-established.

A criminal indictment returned last month in the Southern District of New York alleges that off-site gaming establishments were used to place bets by an illegal gambling ring principally operated in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Nevada and New Hampshire.

The Coeur d’Alene Casino is not specifically named in the indictment.

The indictment named 17 defendants, including Gerald Uvari, identified “as the boss of and partner in the Uvari Group and an associate of the Gambino organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra.”

“In connection with its business, the Uvari Group had customers for whom it facilitated the placement of horse racing and sports bets with various ‘off-site facilities,’ ” the indictment said.

“These off-site facilities were locations where bettors placed bets by telephone or over the Internet on horse races and other sporting contests without actually being present at the event that was the subject of the bet,” the indictment added.

The alleged conspiracy operated from 2000 through last month when the indictment was returned.

The indictment alleged that the Uvari Group often would set up “betting accounts for its customers” by placing an initial sum of money into an off-site account to be used by its betting customers.

Customers repaid the Uvari Group in cash for funds extended for the open betting accounts at the off-site locations, the indictment said.

The Coeur d’Alene Casino and the Tonkawa Casino, operated by the Tonkawa Tribe in Oklahoma, are the only tribal casinos among the 10 off-track sites. Other off-site locations unplugged by the New York Racing Association are in the West Indies, Australia, Aruba and the United Kingdom.

The indictments “further reinforced the propriety and urgency of steps that were already set into motion at NYRA to take a hard look at the entities we are doing business with,” association president Charles Hayward told the Thoroughbred Times.

Working with the National Indian Gaming Commission, the New York racing body “has made great strides in improving the transparency of our operations and ensuring that we employ best business practices at all times,” Hayward said.

“We feel that those who wish to do business with us should be held to those same high standards,” he said.

On the Coeur d’Alene Reservation, spokesman Bostwick said tribal officials there were “obviously aware of the concerns” raised with the actions in New York.

“But they can certainly be sure the quality of this place will continue,” he said. “That’s why we’re successful, a shining example in Indian gaming. We’ve grown into a $100 million resort with hard work, customer service and integrity.”