In an effort to reform the state’s gambling industry, Florida is working on several fronts towards clarifying and changing lots of the rules that govern betting in the Sunshine State. One part of attention is on pari-mutuel wagering: the betting that goes on during the state’s race tracks and frontons that are jai-alai hawaii. But industry insiders say that the first draft of guidelines that have actually been proposed by state regulators simply won’t work.

Workshop to Hammer Out Wagering Rules

Those rules will ultimately be discussed at a workshop with the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering on October 16, but were first released in a draft form week that is last. The rules are made to stop a growing number of questionable practices that are obviously outside of what the state intends to enable at such venues. And while some of those new rules work, those into the industry say that many simply show that regulators aren’t familiar enough with Florida’s gambling industry to create such sweeping changes.

‘Some of them sound right,’ said Ken Stirling, executive director of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and defensive Association. ‘ a number of them haven’t been thought out really well. One or two are pretty silly.’

One of many big areas covered in the draft rules is horse racing regulations designed to expel non-standard racing. Many in the industry consent that this is a good idea, as ‘barrel racing’ and ‘flag-drop’ race have now been seen by some operators in order to cheaply make payments that may also allow them to supply card rooms or slot machines alongside those events.

The newest rules would help put a conclusion to such practices. They might bar ‘the rushing animal to alter course in response to any hurdles regarding the racing surface’ and ensure that jockeys conform to uniform and weight demands that wouldn’t be a problem for legitimate racing operations.

Disagreement Over Acceptable Race Lengths

But the laws don’t stop there, and that is where some feel that the rules go wrong. According to Stirling, some among these guidelines could devastate the race industry if they aren’t changed.

For example, the regulations that are new require that all races are at least six furlongs in length something that might make sense in the event that you’ve only seen the Triple Crown races or the Breeder’s Cup, but making no sense for the industry in general.

‘[The rule that] no race must be reduced than…six furlongs…is a killer,’ Stirling said, noting that such races would be too long for two-year-old horses rushing into the summer time. ‘That’s silly. We run baby races at 4.5 furlongs and we’ve been doing it for a century. I know they are in Tallahassee, but we now have these things called phones.’

He additionally objected to a rule that states that each race must have at the very least six horses a rule that could cause races to be canceled as a result of minute that is last.

Jai-Alai would additionally be affected by the brand new regulations. For example, each venue could be required to have eight players that are certified rotation. This rule comes in response to a debate at Ocala Poker and Jai-Alai, which started the 2012 period with just two players.

While there could be issues with the rules, division director Leon Biegalski says there shouldn’t be described as a issue, and that the workshops were created to help iron out these problems with all the industry’s assistance.

‘They’re draft rules. They’re a starting place. We should make sure that all the permit holders and all sorts of the stake holders are on the exact same web page in terms of just what the regulation is that’s around and what ought to be out there,’ Biegalski said.