Davis Makes a Bad Bet

Opposing any major expansion of gambling, Gov. Gray Davis did the right thing last year by vetoing a bill to permit betting on horse races by telephone or through the Internet. It would, he declared, be “a significant expansion of gambling in California.” Indeed, everyone could become his own bookie. But this year, Davis signs a virtually identical bill into law. What gives?

The racing industry, hurt by declines in track attendance and betting, had long been pressing Sacramento for help. Its lobbyists had been especially active since Davis signed compacts with 61 Indian tribes in 1999 to permit Nevada-style betting in California. Responding to the new law, a lobbyist for the Oak Tree Racing Assn. told the San Francisco Chronicle, “We needed some kind of mechanism to help keep the industry alive.”

Davis said this week that he was signing the bill because federal law had been changed to allow this form of betting in other states. Thus, someone in California could place a bet on a race held in California by calling a betting agency in another state. But the bet could not be placed in California. Now, a system will be established by the California Horse Racing Board so that it can all be done within California. This is progress?

The path of the betting provision was smoothed by making it part of a popular bill, which we supported last year, to improve the working conditions of race track employees. The bill, AB 471, was carried by Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) and co-authored by Assemblyman Herb Wesson (D-Culver City). A Davis office summary of legislation mentioned only the track worker provisions. Nothing about betting.

The governor never gave us an exact definition of what constitutes a “significant” expansion of gambling. But there’s no question that the legalization of Nevada-style gambling in Indian casinos was significant. And clearly, if telephone and Internet betting is needed to keep the racing industry alive, that is significant too. Significantly unacceptable.