In an effort to reform their state’s gambling industry, Florida is working on several fronts towards clarifying and changing most of the rules that govern betting in the Sunshine State. One area of attention is on pari-mutuel wagering: the betting that goes on at the state’s race tracks and frontons that are jai-alai hawaii. But industry insiders state that the very first draft of guidelines that have been proposed by state regulators just 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 last week. The rules are made to stop a number that is growing of techniques that are obviously outside of what the state intends to enable at such venues. And even though some of those new rules work, those in the industry say that numerous just reveal that regulators aren’t familiar sufficient with Florida’s gambling industry to create such changes that are sweeping.

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

One of the big areas covered in the draft guidelines is horse racing regulations designed to eliminate non-standard racing. Many in the industry consent that this is a good clear idea, as ‘barrel racing’ and ‘flag-drop’ race are seen by some operators in an effort to cheaply make payments that will even enable them to supply card spaces or slots alongside those races.

The newest rules would help put an end to such practices. They would bar ‘the rushing animal to change course in reaction to virtually any obstacles in the racing surface’ and ensure that jockeys conform to uniform and fat needs that wouldn’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 those guidelines could devastate the race industry if they aren’t changed.

For example, the regulations that are new require that all races have reached least six furlongs in length something that will 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 all together.

‘[The guideline that] no competition must be reduced than…six furlongs…is a killer,’ Stirling said, noting that such races would be too long for two-year-old horses racing within the summer. ‘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 have these things called phones.’

He also objected to a rule that states that each and every competition must have at the least six horses a guideline which could cause races become canceled because of minute that is last.

Jai-Alai would be affected by the brand new regulations. For instance, each venue would be needed to have eight certified players in rotation. This rule comes in response to a controversy at Ocala Poker and Jai-Alai, which began the 2012 period with only two players.

While there could be issues with the rules, division director Leon Biegalski says there shouldn’t be a nagging problem, and that the workshops are made to help iron out these issues aided by the industry’s help.

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