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The state Racing Commission on Tuesday approved regulations governing electronic games of skill to be played at race tracks at Hot Springs and West Memphis, but still hasn't identified specifically what such a game is.
Racing Commission Chairman Cecil Alexander said it would be up to companies that make the games to certify that there is some element of skill involved in their products. Until the companies present the games to the state, no specific games can be authorized, Alexander said.
Also at the commission's meeting Tuesday, the panel approved Southland Racing Corp. president Barry Baldwin's request to change the name of Southland Greyhound Park to Southland Park. Baldwin said name change will help promote "all the different activities that will be available," with electronic gaming and other entertainment options being added in a $40 million expanson aimed at competing with casinos in Tunica, Miss.
Voters at Hot Springs and West Memphis last year approved expanded gambling at Oaklawn Park and Southland Park, which will feature pari-mutuel gambling. It is generally believed that the new games will be along the line of video poker machines.
The commission also settled on the use of Racing Commission auditors to keep watch on the new gaming. Commissioners met last month to approve the rules but said several legal and budgetary questions would have to be resolved before they could proceed.
The new regulations make room for 15 new employees who will staff the electronic gaming portion at the two tracks, said Danny Walker, a field audit administrator with the Department of Finance and Administration, the commission's parent agency.
The commission will hire one manager for both tracks, who will be based in Little Rock, Walker said. Each facility will also hire two supervisors, two auditors and four field agents, he said. The positions have been approved by the Legislature, Walker said.
The rules adopted at the meeting allow the facilities to offer electronic gaming on up to 1,000 machines seven days a week, 16-hours a day, but not on Christmas or Easter, Walker said.
Eric Jackson, Oaklawn's general manager, said the approval of the regulations was a "critical" step in implementing the electronic games of skill. Jackson said Oaklawn hopes to have games operating by the end of the year this year and to break ground in April on an expansion to the track to accommodate for the new games.
Baldwin said that though he was pleased with the steps the commission took Tuesday, it will still be a long process before the electronic games are available at Southland Park.
"It's been a lot of hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait, but we're trying to work as quickly as we can," he said. Southland hopes to finish its expansion by November.
Live thoroughbred racing resumes at Oaklawn on Jan. 19.
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