Opinion ID: 4557272
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Arizona Statutory Scheme

Text: Arizona law generally prohibits gambling, with several exceptions. See A.R.S. §§ 5-112, 13-3305(A), 13-3301(6). “Pari-mutuel wagering,” a system that distributes among successful bettors “the total amount wagered less the amount withheld under state law,” is the only legal form of gambling on horseracing. See id. § 5-101(23). That wagering can occur only at the live-racing track of a permittee, or at licensed off-track betting sites (“OTBs”), id. § 5-112(A), (H), sometimes referred to as “additional wagering facilities” or “teletracks,” see id. § 5-101(1); Ariz. Admin. Code § R19-2-401(12). 1 OTB wagering typically involves a “simulcast,” defined in Arizona law in pertinent part as “the telecast shown within this state of live audio and visual signals of horse [races] conducted at an out-of-state track or 1 A bettor can wager “within Arizona on a racing program conducted at an authorized track within Arizona regardless of whether the racing program is telecast to the teletrack location.” Ariz. Admin. Code § R19- 2-401(14) (defining “teletrack wagering”). 6 MONARCH CONTENT MGMT. V. ARIZ. DEP’T OF GAMING the telecast shown outside this state of live audio and visual signals of horse [races] originating within this state for the purpose of pari-mutuel wagering.” A.R.S. § 5-101(26). But, no provision of Arizona law expressly conditions OTB wagering on the use of a simulcast. Simulcasts are regulated by the Arizona Department of Gaming and the Arizona Racing Commission. See id. §§ 5-107, 5-108; Ariz. Downs v. Ariz. Horsemen’s Found., 637 P.2d 1053, 1056-57, 1060 (Ariz. 1981); see also Ariz. Admin. Code § R19-2-419. The Arizona statute at issue in this case requires that “[a]ny simulcast of live racing into this state that originates from outside” Arizona “must be offered to each commercial live-racing permittee . . . and additional wagering facility” in the state. A.R.S. § 5-112(U). The statute also prohibits a “provider of simulcasts originating from outside” Arizona from engaging in “any anticompetitive or deceptive practice.” Id. The same requirements and proscriptions apply to providers of simulcasts originating from the racetracks of Arizona live-racing permittees. 2 Id. § 5- 112(T).