Utah Gov hints opposition to parimutuel betting

The governor has hinted that he has concerns about a bill that would allow parimutuel betting.

US.- Gary Herbert, Governor of Utah, has discussed a new bill that would pave the way for legal parimutuel betting in the state. Despite the fact that the initiative was introduced this week, the governor has already said that he believes that the modality doesn’t help economy in the long run.

The bill was filed on Tuesday by Senator David Hinkins, and it would allow counties to decide whether they want to allow betting on horse racing or not. However, the governor of the state has already expressed “serious concerns about allowing parimutuel betting into Utah.”

The governor’s spokesman Paul Edwards said in a statement that “parimutuel betting doesn’t add to economic prosperity. Instead of growing the economic pie, it merely slices it up differently. It takes money, redistributes it among those in the pool (less administrative costs), and returns nothing of value.”

Moreover, the spokesman said that because of how federal law treats gaming on Indian reservations, parimutuel betting could open the door to other kinds of gambling that the state has constitutionally prohibited.

Senator Hinkins responded to those claims and said that parimutuel could actually be a potential revenue generator for rural counties, and that it does not violate the Utah Constitution prohibition on gambling because the state’s Supreme Court has ruled that it is not a game of chance.