Off-track wagering interests urge probe

Rival: Turf Paradise has monopoly on simulcast

A simmering feud among Arizona off-track betting operators erupted in a verbal brawl last week when the leader of a Prescott horse track called for an attorney general probe during a meeting of the Arizona Racing Commission.

David Author, co-owner of Arizona Downs, told commissioners his business has been blackballed by Monarch Content Management, a Canadian company that owns the simulcast signal for horse tracks vital to the offtrack betting market in Arizona.

Monarch instead provides live video feeds almost exclusively to outlets controlled by Turf Paradise, the Phoenix wagering enterprise operated by Jerry Simms.

Author said Monarch’s decision to boycott Arizona Downs has been “devastating for our business plan. … There’s got to be some kind of collusion,” he said. “The attorney general

should be investigating this” violations.

Monarch and Simms separately denied having any agreement to create a monopoly.

The Attorney General’s Office, which provides legal counsel to the Racing Commission, did not respond to a request for comment.

The dispute comes as off-track betting interests position themselves to expand into sports wagering and other kinds of gambling, if those options become available.

The Supreme Court in May wiped out a federal law banning sports bookmaking across most of the nation, ruling the statute is unconstitutional. Since then, some states have legalized betting on athletic events in designated locations, such as tribal casinos and off-track horse racing parlors.

In Arizona, authorizing sports betting likely would require changes to a state compact with Indian tribes, as well as legislation. Gov. Doug Ducey has publicly discussed a move in that direction, noting the state could use a share of gambling revenue to fund education and other services.

“There’s a lot of opportunity here,” Ducey said in May, according to the for antitrust Off-track betting parlors, known as OTBs, already are the lifeblood for Arizona’s thoroughbred industry.

There are 64 licensed locations throughout the state. According to Racing Division records, their simulcasts account for $137 million in wagering annually, or more than 90 percent of all parimutuel betting.

The operations work like this: Turf Paradise, Arizona Downs and a couple of other enterprises develop contracts with bars throughout the state, providing equipment and staffing. The bars do not receive wagering profits, but get increased business from the people who frequent them to bet on races.

Live video feeds are sent to each offtrack site, where customers bet on races streamed from across the country. Although there are several simulcast companies, Monarch has exclusive rights to key horse tracks such as Santa Anita and Gulfstream.

Turf Paradise dominates the Arizona market with 55 OTBs, and Simms said they account for 42 percent of his handle, or total wagering.

Arizona Downs, which is not expected to begin live races at least until springtime, receives Monarch simulcasts at the track in Prescott, but not at four OTB parlors elsewhere. Two of those are in Phoenix, where Turf Paradise views them as competition.

Monarch President Scott Daruty said spurning the Prescott-based operator is a shrewd business decision, and there’s been no monopoly arrangement with Turf Paradise.