When it comes to US online gaming, Kentucky have never exactly been the biggest proponent of the activity. In fact, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear famously attempted to seize 141 internet-gaming domain names back in 2008. But not everybody in the Bluegrass State is staunchly opposed to online gambling. Churchill Downs CEO Bob Evans is one heavy proponent of cyber gaming and wants his Louisville-based racetrack to be a “significant player” in the market.
Speaking with Justin Sebastiano of Brean Capital, Evans commented on the matter during a earnings call that discussed the track’s first quarter of 2014. When asked by Sebastiano about their plan behind $1 million-plus quarterly investments in internet gaming, Evans responded :
“Okay, a short and sweet answer which is that we believe that over time the Internet gaming market in the U.S. will develop into a significant opportunity for us and for others as well of course. We plan to be a significant player in that.
We will continue to make the investments at about the current rate at least through the rest of this year building the technology platform which I think we’ve got some real advantages in and the kind of long-term view on this. We can’t make states legalize Internet gaming any faster than they would otherwise. But as that occurs, we want to be a player.”
What States are Churchill Downs trying to enter?
Obviously online gaming isn’t opening up in Churchill Downs’ home state any time soon. So the track will be pursuing options in other US states. They previously tried to buy Atlantic City’s Showboat Casino, however, this deal fell through last February. They’ve since leveled a $2.5 million (plus damages) lawsuit against New Jersey businessman Nicholas L. Ribis, claiming he “strung them along” by continually saying he was close to buying Showboat.
As for Delaware and Nevada, there’s been no word of Churchill Downs trying to gain an internet license in these small states. And given that the track have no real ties to Delaware or Nevada, they may not put much effort towards the matter.
California, on the other hand, would be worth the effort since they boast a population of 38 million people. Churchill Downs doesn’t really have a major presence in the Golden State either. However, by developing their own gaming platform, the race track could align with one of the land-based cardrooms in California.
Illinois is another option for Churchill Downs. But the one catch here is that Illinois must figure out their land-based casino expansion first before serious talks of internet gaming reach the table.