An article appeared on the Public Gaming Research Institute website today that discusses the impact horse racing has on gambling at casinos.
A study has been done by Richard Thalheimer, a consultant in Kentucky, on whether slot machine revenues from the state’s only horse track are being properly spent in subsidizing horse racing in Atloona. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission heard from Thalheimer on Thursday regarding his findings.
Thalheimer says the magnitude of the impact of the track was 123-million dollars and 2,200 full time equivalent jobs. He says other major findings were that the economic impact increases with the increase in the number of race days, it increases with the cost to maintain the horses, and the overall days the horses are at the stables.
According to Thalheimer, there are two impacts that horse racing has on the casino.
The first is the betting of customers who come to bet on the horse races and the betting at other locations that simulcast horse races from Iowa all across the country. Thalheimer says the betting increases on simulcast races when live races are also running at the track. Secondly, he says the casino benefits from the live racing.
Thalheimers says when there's live racing, the slot machine wagers go up 13-percent. Thalheimer says the uncertainty of the number of race dates and future of horse racing has caused the investment in horse breeding to drop, which he says has impacted the economic impact. Thalheimer says his study found over 50% of the horse owners did not turn a profit in 2007.
To read the full article, click here.
(With files from Public Gaming Research Institute)