Daruty: Confiscation of Machines an Action “Under the Direction of the Attorney General’s Office”

[Wandering Eyes]

Two days after first being quietly unveiled at Santa Anita, the Racing on Demand slot machine-style parimutuel games-with distinct similarities to Historic Horse Racing-were removed from the track by Department of Justice law enforcement officers Saturday afternoon in a pubic operation that saw DOJ personnel wheel the machines out the back of the Santa Anita grandstand on gurneys during racing.

Given the apparent abruptness of the law enforcement operation, little information was shared publicly about who and what precipitated the action.

But reached briefly Sunday morning, Los Angeles Turf Club senior vice-president Scott Daruty explained that the state Attorney General's office, under Rob Bonta, gave the order. This, after the AG's office had apparently received fore-warning about the machines nearly a year ago before they were made operational.

“There was no court order. There was no court action. There was no seizure warrant. This was an action of the Department of Justice under the direction of the Attorney General's office,” said Daruty.

The TDN has reached out to the state AG's office and to the California DOJ's Bureau of Gambling Control for comment. This story will be updated as necessary.

There had been 26 machines in total operating in the grandstand pavilion since Thursday. They offered $1 bets and required gamblers to select the first three finishers of three random six-horse previously-run races.

The ultimate purpose of the machines was to provide a much-needed additional source of income for Santa Anita's purses, which have struggled to compete with other states whose purse accounts are juiced by supplemental revenue sources like HHR machines.

The question had been whether the machines were legal or not without explicit approval from Tribal entities in the state who hold a lock on non-pari-mutuel wagering in California.

Indeed, a politically powerful Tribal entity told the LA Times Thursday that they would have a “full throated” response to machines going in at Santa Anita, arguing that they violate the tribal compact on gambling.

When asked if there were other political forces that had swayed yesterday's action by the state AG's office, Daruty pointed to this sway that Tribal entities wield.

“What exactly triggered the actions yesterday? I don't know. However, I will say that anybody who keeps an eye on California politics knows how much money the Tribes spend and knows how, let's say, influential they can be to politicians,” he said.

Daruty was tight-lipped Sunday morning about what the next steps would be, other than to say they would take the matter to court and that he still believed theirs was a strong case, describing the machines as “Tote” terminals.

“We will be seeking a court confirmation that our view of applicable law is correct,” he said. “Based on the very limited, almost non-existent investigation they did into how those Tote terminals actually work, I think our legal position is much better than theirs. And frankly, I'm not sure they even understand that they took Tote terminals.”

These remarks mirror in tone what Daruty had stated in a short statement issued Saturday evening. In it, he maintained that the terminals operated under longstanding pari-mutuel wagering laws using a wager that regulators had already approved.

“Attorney General Bonta received our comprehensive legal analysis nearly a year ago. His office had ample time to raise concerns. They did not. We proceeded on solid legal ground, and since the state is choosing to challenge that now, we're fully prepared to defend ourselves. We're confident the law is clear,” Daruty wrote.

While Tribal entities are a political behemoth in the state, the Tribes suffered a rare reversal of fortunes in the courts last year in their attempt to sue and ultimately shut down gambling halls called card rooms in the state.

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