A racino is a combined

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track, or other live

parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting, or pool betting, is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the ''house-take'', or ''vigorish'', are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among a ...

facility, and

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

. In some cases, the permitted form of

gambling is limited to

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

s or video lottery terminals, but many locations also offer table games such as

blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

, and

roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

. As of the end of 2023, there were approximately 50 racinos operating in the United States. Racinos operate in other countries, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, as well.

History in the United States

Beginning in the late 1970s, the popularity of horse racing began to decline in the United States, as evidenced by the inflation-adjusted decline in wagering by 52 percent from a peak in 1977 through 2006. This decline in wagering occurred despite efforts to increase parimutuel wagering through initiatives such as off-track betting and advance-deposit wagering. The decline is generally attributed to the introduction and growth of casino gambling and lottery gaming. In 1990,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

authorized the installation of several hundred video lottery terminals at Mountaineer Park as part of a pilot program that eventually became law in 1994. In 1992, in response to the opening of the

Foxwoods Foxwoods Resort Casino is an integrated resort owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their Indian reservation, reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casino ...

Native American casino nearby in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, the

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

legislature passed a bill permitting electronic gaming devices at the state's two parimutuel wagering venues, Lincoln Greyhound Park and Newport Jai Alai. An early success story was the mid-1990s turnaround of the Prairie Meadows racetrack, in

Polk County, Iowa Polk County is located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 492,401. making it the List of counties in Iowa, most populous county in Iowa, and was estimated to be 505,255 in 2023. It is ...

. Prairie Meadows, which opened in 1989 but went bankrupt by 1991, was bought by the county government in 1993. As reported in a January 2003 study for the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission: Other states followed suit.

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

authorized racinos in 1994, and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

in 1997. A number of larger states also enacted enabling legislation, including New York in 2001,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 2004, and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

in 2011. Most recently,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

authorized race tracks to seek casino licenses, in 2019 and 2021 respectively. Some states, notably

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, have declined to specifically designate race tracks as casino locations, but nonetheless have awarded casino licenses to race tracks through open competitive bidding processes. Some other states have declined to authorize casino gambling within their states, but have authorized race tracks to offer historical horse racing machines, which are similar in appearance to slot machines but which award prizes based on the results of old horse races. This style of gambling was first introduced at Oaklawn Park in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in 2000. Arkansas race tracks were subsequently authorized to offer casino gambling, however, several state, including

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, still offer this style of gambling at race tracks. In some states, certain racinos have been permitted to discontinue live racing and still been permitted to continue their casino operations. Many of these are former greyhound tracks that have closed as result of public sentiment turning against the sport on animal welfare grounds. Only two greyhound tracks continue to operate in the United States, both of which are racinos in West Virginia. Today there are approximately 50 racinos operating in 17 U.S. states, not including any tracks offering historical horse racing machines. In 2023, the number one commercial casino in the United States outside of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

was a racino, Resorts World New York City located at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

, with approximately $950 million in casino gaming revenue. Four other racinos were also in the top 20, as were two former greyhound racing facilities.

Types of racinos

* Slot Machines: The most common gaming feature in racinos. * Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs): Electronic gaming machines connected to a central system. * Table Games: In some cases, racinos may include table games like blackjack, poker, or roulette, depending on local laws. * Betting Facilities: Allowing wagers on live or simulcast races. Racinos are often used to help revive struggling racetracks by drawing in additional revenue from casino gaming. They provide a mix of entertainment, from gaming to dining, and sometimes even live performances. For instance, a study on the economic and tax revenue impacts of racino gaming in Texas estimated that implementing racinos could contribute just under $1 billion annually to the state.

References

External links

Dictionary entry
tracing the term back to 1995

a June 2003 article from ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''
Argument Over VLTs at Tracks Heats Up
a December 2003 article from the ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

'' {{Gambling Casinos Horse racing