NEWS
Indian gaming compromises racing revenue in Oklahoma
Posted: Monday, October 07, 2002
Separate studies by Harvard University and University of Oklahoma Economics Professor Alexander Holmes have found that the success of Indian gaming in Oklahoma comes at the expense of the state's racetracks. Track attendance dropped 70% from 1989 to '98, while betting on Oklahoma races dropped 76.8% from 1995 to '99.
"Although it is impossible to measure how much of the [horse racing] decline is due to expanded Indian gaming and simulcasting in Oklahoma, there can be no doubt that the impact is significant," Holmes told The Oklahoman. Holmes prepared his study for Oklahoma's three horsemen groups.
Currently, 55 Indian facilities offer high-stakes bingo, pull tabs, and slot machines while 15 facilities offer simulcast wagering. Those facilities give Oklahoma's tracks their biggest competition.
The Harvard study, financed by the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, concluded that Indian gaming has been a watershed development in Oklahoma economics, employing 3,857 people—27% of which are non-Native Americans.
Gaming revenues have added about $329-million to the gross state product, and tribes have used profits to fund scholarships, health care services, and Head Start programs.
The Holmes study found that Indian gaming has a negative impact on the state because of its effect on the racing industry. Holmes said that as many as 19,700 Oklahoma jobs are related to horse racing, which has more than a $1.1-billion influence the economy.
Wagering figures were not the only factors in the studies, which showed the number of horses registered in the Oklahoma-bred program has dropped 48.4% from 4,998 in 1991 to 2,576 in 2000.
"From a public policy perspective, the racehorse breeding industry provides significantly greater economic development opportunities than do most forms of the entertainment industry and certainly greater economic benefits than any alternative form of the gambling industry," Holmes said. "The racehorse breeding and training industry in Oklahoma cannot sustain a period of economic decline without complete collapse because of the significant investment capital needed to maintain the critical threshold for economic vitality."
Oklahoma racetracks are lobbying for new gaming legislation that would allow tracks to offer some forms of alternative gaming—such as slot or pull-tab machines.
"Expansion of Indian gaming activities will continue to erode the economic health of Oklahoma's licensed racetracks and have a negative effect on the horse breeding and training industries in Oklahoma with a detrimental effect on the overall health of the Oklahoma economy, particularly that of rural Oklahoma," Holmes said.
