With the year’s biggest races behind them, Kentucky’s largest tracks are now looking toward the future, and the view is a grim one. Profits have been slipping at the tracks for several years, and the recent economic downturn has hit this segment of the gambling industry especially hard.

Kentucky has long been recognized as the heart of horse racing, and the sport generates a great deal of income for the state; an income that is subsidized by the many breeders and trainers that have made the Bluegrass State their home. Historically, the racetracks have been all about the horses and the state has been quick to emphasize this focus by restricting all other forms of gambling.

Recently this stance has fallen under fire as the Kentucky tracks have lost major action to the slots-subsidized purses offered by neighboring states. Track owners fear that the aforementioned breeders and trainers could also follow the cash across state lines, resulting in bigger losses across the board.

Last week, six of the state’s most notable racetracks spoke out at an emergency press conference demanding changes in gambling legislation and forecasting the failure of one of the state’s largest industries if these changes aren’t made immediately. First and foremost among the desired changes is a request for the state to expand its gambling legislation to allow the installation of slots and the institution of slots-subsidized purses at Kentucky’s racetracks.

Bob Evans, the current CEO of Churchill Downs, punctuated the urgency of the plea by stating, “We can’t wait any longer.” Already 11 of the states nearest to Kentucky offer some other form of trackside betting, and many others are expected to follow within the next year. “When that happens…look out,” Evans warned.

The press conference was just the beginning. This week, a series of radio ads will hit the air in an effort to rally public support for the motion, and these ads will be further supplemented by a mass mailing campaign that is expected to reach over 250,000 Kentucky homes.

State Governor Steve Beshear has already pledged his support, and a previous House proposal for video slots is under new consideration.

The Canadian Internet bingo software developer Parlay Entertainment has reported another disappointing quarterly result in its numbers for Q1 2009, with revenues declining to $1 million (Q1 2008: $2 million).

However, the company managed to substantially reduce expenses from $2.5 million in the same period last year to $1.3 million in the first quarter 2009. The company’s net loss over the quarter was $200 000, lower than the $300 000 loss recorded in Q1 2008.

Scott White, Parlay’s Chief Executive Officer commented: “2009 marks an important transitional year for Parlay as we deploy Parlay5 across our licensee base and provide enhanced technology solutions through our Parlay Games Services division in Alderney.

“With Parlay5 representing the most sophisticated and robust Internet bingo software commercially available today, our ability to support some 11 languages in a multi-currency environment, gives us a platform to service increasingly sophisticated licensees offering gaming opportunities across multiple languages and currencies.

“Through the use of this new generation of Parlay bingo, our integration of new content from our recently announced technology partners, our launch of complete remote gaming services in the UK and North America and our enhanced customer relationships, as well as opportunities to use the Parlay5 platform outside of traditional Internet gaming, will give Parlay the ability to recoup the revenue streams divested in 2008.”

Parlay remains debt free and the firm’s cash balance at March 31, 2009 was $3 million.

White said that the company had anticipated that both revenue and cost-base would shrink in Q1 2009 as plans to move out of non-regulated markets developed.

The exemptions in US law that allow the horseracing industry to take bets over the Internet seem to be working well for the major Churchill Downs Inc track operator. So well, in fact, that it has attracted criticism from the press as distracting management from the core live racing business.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the exchange between management and media took place during a conference call discussing the company’s first quarter 2009 results. Washington Post columnist Andrew Beyer criticised the focus by Churchill on the new online wagering business in a Kentucky Derby week piece, citing disputes Churchill had over the last year with horsemen’s groups on how to share revenue from account wagering, and CEO Bob Evans defended his company.

“We aren’t abandoning racing,” Evans said. “We’re rebuilding it.” Evans went on to confirm that the company’s results are increasingly benefitting from non-pari-mutuel gaming and its online pari-mutuel business, TwinSpires.com, and those trends will continue “…because the growth rates of these new businesses are higher than [those in] racing.”

The Washington Post writer had opined that Churchill’s bid to increase income was at the expense of the owners and trainers who put on the show at the tracks.

Evans made a general response in which he pointed out that “every single dollar spent by Churchill Downs on slot operations and online operations produces more purses for horsemen at CDI tracks, expands the customer base to which we can market racing and makes CDI a stronger financial entity, which enables us to make more investments and take greater risks.”

Gaming Technology Solutions announced it had signed up for new games from the leading gaming machine manufacturer Bell-Fruit Games Limited. Under the contract, GTS will soon integrate these new games developed by Bell-Fruit into its Enhanced Gaming Engine or EdGE platform. In effect, anyone using the EdGE system will be able to access all the existing and upcoming game content by Bell-Fruit.

As the undisputed leader in the design and development of games for multiple markets, Bell-Fruit has an impressive catalogue of well-recognized games from the traditional pub and arcade sectors. Its venture into the on-line digital world will give players the same high-quality gaming experience from a trusted name. Its impressive knowledge and proven experience in total entertainment will help ensure all the players’ needs, wants and expectations will be fulfilled satisfactorily in both UK and the whole Europe.

Mr. Tony Oliver, the managing director of Bell-Fruit’s subsidiary Mazooma, admits being delighted with their continued cooperation with GTS. He states this gives them an excellent opportunity to extend their previous successes in the off-line space to the on-line digital arena. Bell-Fruit is without question one of the foremost makers of coin-operated entertainment machines and its logo is globally recognizable.

Even the director of GTS, Mr. Steven Matsell, is entirely confident that Bell-Fruit’s extensive experience will be a definite advantage for them since their games are very popular and hence highly profitable.

Delaware is 14 votes away from becoming the first state east of the Mississippi River to allow sports betting. It would also be one of a handful to allow table games.

After a strong push by Gov. Jack Markell in the House, the measure — legalizing table games, authorizing sports betting and increasing the state’s share of gambling revenues — heads to the Senate amid the dissenting roars of the NFL, NCAA and the state’s three casinos.

Less than a year ago, a proposal that would have legalized sports betting never saw a Senate vote after then-Gov. Ruth Ann Minner vowed to veto the bill if it passed.

This version was rejected Tuesday in the House before hours of negotiations led to an agreement and passage, by a 30-4 vote, early Friday.

Brokering hinged on getting House Republicans to sign on and included several concessions. The increase in the state’s share was lowered from 8 points to 6.5 points, the licensing fee was dropped from $4.5 million to $4 million and table games were authorized “as soon as possible.”

Not everyone was pleased with the compromise. Casino representatives said the bill fails to address their concerns, and Laird Stabler, a lobbyist for the NFL, said early Friday that the pro sports leagues will continue to oppose the legislation as long as sports betting remains in the language.

It’s not clear yet if the same fight could play out in the Senate.

Senate President Pro Tempore Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville, began saying he expected sports betting to be approved this year even before Markell won the primary. Standing trackside at the State Fair in July, Adams said after Minner left, the last barriers would be removed.

Adams sits on the board of directors for the State Fair, which owns a majority share of Harrington Raceway and Casino, and is an honorary member of the racetrack’s board of directors. Adams is expected to abstain from voting when the bill hits the Senate floor, but will still decide when the bill is heard and which committee will consider the legislation.

His counterpart across the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson, R-Milford, also sits on the board of directors of the State Fair and said he will not vote on the bill. But that won’t stop him from being involved in negotiations or speaking on the Senate floor during debate.

Senate Majority Whip Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere, said she anticipates the sports betting bill will be voted on in the Senate by the end of next week, after which the Legislature breaks for two weeks to allow the Joint Finance Committee to consider the budget.

“I don’t want this to drag,” Blevins said. “The members of the Joint Finance have a lot to do and they don’t need to be distracted.”

She said no one has conducted a straw poll and is unsure if the support of Harrington-area lawmakers in the House — such as Rep. Robert Outten, R-Harrington, who voted in favor of the bill on Friday — could signal a similar move by southern Senate members.

“What we’re seeing is a recognition that we need the revenues and if we don’t pass some form of this bill, then we’re going to have a much higher hill to climb to get to a budget on June 30th,” she said. “The state of the revenue has really driven the success of sports betting. I think the casinos make out pretty well with this bill. We have addressed every issue they’ve brought up. I shouldn’t say we, the House of Representatives has addressed every issue they brought up.”

Blevins said she will vote in favor of the bill, meaning only 13 more senators are needed to approve the legislation.

Only three other states can hold sports betting under federal law — Nevada, Montana, which runs a small program where people can bet on fantasy football, and Oregon, which discontinued its program.

As the fight in Dover garners national attention, other states are trying to get their piece of the sports betting attention.

New Jersey Rep. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, filed a lawsuit in March asking a federal court to overturn the law that grants Delaware an exemption from an otherwise nationwide sports betting ban.

The Seminole Tribe would be able to keep blackjack at its Tampa and Broward County casinos under a proposed agreement passed by the Senate.

All seven of the tribe’s casinos would also be allowed slot machines under the proposed deal that passed Friday on a 31-9 vote.

The House still needs to approve the agreement, which calls for the state to receive at least $150 million a year from the tribe.

Even if both chambers pass the agreement, there’s no guarantee the tribe will accept it. The deal isn’t as good for the Seminoles as the one they signed with Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007.

The Supreme Court, however, said Crist didn’t have the authority to sign that agreement.