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Ohio governor calls for VLTs at racetracks only

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June 19, 2009

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Ohio Governor Ted Strickland announced at a press conference Friday at 4 pm that he is supporting a plan for video lottery terminals at the state's seven's racetracks, and he sees it as a way to quickly raise close to $1 billion, which would help fill a $3.2 billion budget shortfall. Strickland, a Democrat, had previously been steadfast in his opposition to expanded gaming at the tracks.

"Having conferred with my legal staff, we believe it is possible to do this with legislative action, without a statewide vote," said Strickland, who added that he believed the VLT program would fall under the Lottery Commission, and said "We believe we are on firm legal ground with what we're proposing."

During the 30-minute press conference, the governor outlined Ohio's budget problems and chronicled the more than $2 billion in cuts he has already executed since January 2008. "We have already re-sized state government," he noted.

Other than mentioning that the VLTs would be placed only at the state's seven racetracks, which would pay licensing fees as well as taxes, Strickland did not mention racetracks or the state's horse racing industry until asked in questioning by reporters.

"I've known for a long time that this is an industry that was struggling, but this was not a prominent reason for my decision," Strickland said of his reasons for advocating VLTs only at the state's racetracks.

This spring the Ohio State Racing Commission drafted a plan that would place slots at the seven Ohio racetracks, bringing the state a quick $175 million in licensing fees. Earlier this month Ohio's horse racing industry held a rally on the Statehouse grounds to call attention to the industry's importance to the state.

The governor said that the Racing Commission plan would not necessarily be adopted, and that details of his VLT plan were not yet available, but would soon be announced.

When asked why his plan calls for VLTs only at the racetracks, he gave the following reasons: they would be where gambling is already taking place; they are in discreet facilities; they are in age-appropriate venues. "Those are some of the reasons that we chose to take this course of action," he added.

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