In an attempt to reform hawaii’s gambling industry, Florida is working on several fronts towards clarifying and changing most rules that govern betting in the Sunshine State. One section of attention is on pari-mutuel wagering: the betting that goes on at the state’s race tracks and frontons that are jai-alai the state. But industry insiders state that the first draft of rules 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 were created to eliminate a number that is growing of methods that are demonstrably outside of what the state intends to enable at such venues. And while some of these new rules work, those into the industry say that many simply show that regulators aren’t familiar sufficient with Florida’s gambling industry to create such sweeping changes.

‚Some of them seem sensible,‘ said Ken Stirling, executive director of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. ‚ a number of them have actuallyn’t been thought out very well. One or two are pretty silly.‘

Among the big areas covered in the draft guidelines is horse racing regulations designed to eradicate non-standard racing. Many in the industry agree that this is an idea that is good as ‚barrel racing‘ and ‚flag-drop‘ racing were seen by some operators as a way to cheaply earn payments that will also enable them to supply card spaces or slots alongside those races.

The newest rules would help put a conclusion to such practices. They’d bar ‚the racing animal to change course in reaction to virtually any obstacles regarding the surface that is racing and make sure that jockeys conform to uniform and fat demands that couldn’t be an issue for legitimate racing operations.

Disagreement Over Acceptable Race Lengths

But the regulations don’t stop there, and that’s where some feel that the rules go wrong. According to Stirling, some of the rules could devastate the race industry if they aren’t changed.

For example, the new regulations would need that most races are at minimum six furlongs in length something that might create sense in the event that you’ve only seen the Triple Crown races or the Breeder’s Cup, but which makes 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 within the summer. ‚That’s silly. We run child races at 4.5 furlongs and we’ve been doing it for a century. I know they truly are in Tallahassee, but we now have these plain things called phones.‘

He additionally objected to a rule that states that every race must have at the very least six horses a rule which could cause races to be canceled because of last second scratches.

Jai-Alai would additionally be affected by the brand new regulations. For example, each location will be required to possess eight certified players in rotation. This rule comes in response to a debate at Ocala Poker and Jai-Alai, which began the 2012 season with just two players.

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

‚They’re draft rules. They’re a starting place. You want to make sure that most of the license holders and all sorts of the stake holders are on the exact same web page in terms of exactly what the regulation is that’s out there and what ought to be out there,‘ Biegalski stated.