Online Gambling on Horse Racing for Hoosiers Gets OK from Indiana Senate

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Online Gambling on Horse Racing for Hoosiers Gets OK from Indiana SenateHoosiers could soon be betting online on horse racing contests.

Approval of this internet gambling activity just got a boost after a bill designed to open online horse racing bets in the Hoosier state was passed by the a state Senate committee.

“HB 1270 would allow horse racing fans to bet on their favorite horses from their personal phones or computers,” according to a news story at Nuvo. “Rep. Robert Cherry, R-Greenfield, the bill’s author, said the legislation would re-authorize that method of gambling in Indiana.”

“The advanced deposit wagering is accomplished by customers pre-funding an account from which the patron then makes wagers on the horses by the means of (an) Internet site,” Cherry explained.

Cherry added that account gambling was legal in Indiana a decade ago, but was squashed after a 2005 bill strengthened state laws against Internet gaming.

“This was erroneously removed when…former Sen. David Ford had a criminal statute curtail the illegal Internet gaming,” Cherry said. “And this wasn’t to be included in it, but it was.”

Passage of the bill came as a surprise to House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis.

“Seriously?” Bosma asked when only Cherry came to the microphone to talk about the legislation. “I’m not sure we understand the content of the bill.”

In addition, several legislators expressed concern that Gov. Mike Pence “might consider account wagering an expansion of gambling, which he opposes.”

Still, advocates are upbeat.

“This bill will help us particularly, the thoroughbreds, to achieve the vision that the Indiana General Assembly had in the first place,” said Michael Brown, executive director of the Indiana Horsemen Benevolent Protective Association.

Supporters of the bill expressed the view that it would not conflict with Pence’s view on gambling in the state.

“If this opened the door for things like using online accounts for poker or other things, that, in my mind, would be the expansion,” said Mike McDaniel, executive director of governmental affairs for the Krieg Devault legal group, said. “But this limits it to the horse racing, which is what we had prior to 2005.”

The bill will now move to the Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee.

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