ADW will be illegal in Illinois effective Jan. 1

[imofe]

Originally Posted by olddaddy

Is anything going on with this nonsense? It would be nice if the advocates, twinspires and xpressbet, would keep their customers informed.

What is wrong with this guy complaining as long as he has tried to do something about it. He wants to know if anyone has an update and he is venting. But from YOUR EXPERIENCE you think you know him and he is just a complainer. Never said you were a terrible person but you did treat him and others that are feeling the same way in a condescending manner.

[olddaddy]

imofe, This is what people do when they are frustrated and have no answers or solutions. If you word things in the right way you make yourself appear to have a silver bullet but really have squat. Let it go.

[goforgin]

I sent an email to the head of the IL Racing Board Marc Laino about a week ago. He said there had been no movement to date, but hopes the ADW will be extended and taken up by the General Assembly within a few weeks. Of course there's no guarantees in IL politics. I plan to follow up again with Marc on March 8th for an update if we haven't heard anything by then.

[imofe]

Originally Posted by olddaddy

imofe, This is what people do when they are frustrated and have no answers or solutions. If you word things in the right way you make yourself appear to have a silver bullet but really have squat. Let it go.

You are correct. I will let it go.

[imofe]

Originally Posted by goforgin

I sent an email to the head of the IL Racing Board Marc Laino about a week ago. He said there had been no movement to date, but hopes the ADW will be extended and taken up by the General Assembly within a few weeks. Of course there's no guarantees in IL politics. I plan to follow up again with Marc on March 8th for an update if we haven't heard anything by then.

Thanks for the update. Let us know if you hear anything else.

[Mr_Ed]

Why doesn't Xpressbet, et al, just drop Illinois tracks for all ADW bettors until this is resolved?

Don't you think Illinois would then move faster on this bill?

[Maximillion]

Originally Posted by Mr_Ed

Why doesn't Xpressbet, et al, just drop Illinois tracks for all ADW bettors until this is resolved?

Don't you think Illinois would then move faster on this bill?

Its an interesting idea.

What can we do as horseplayers?
Do we all gather up in a park a la The Warriors?.

A boycott would be great but the adws are really the only ones in position to do so.Of course the question would be would it be worth it for them...would they really gain anything?

[betovernetcapper]

Illinois State Rep Jay Hoffman introduced a bill that would allow ADWs to operate legally. It is HB 964. What can be done is to contact your state reps & senators and request it's passage. It's pretty much of a no brainer for all but a very few politicians in extremely conservative areas. A few thousand calls and emails should do it.

The IRB is said to support this bill, but it's important to remember that the IRB doesn't create the law, merely enforces it.

So if you'd like Illinois to have ADWs, make a phone call. Or if you'd rather, just complain about it. It's all good.

[imofe]

That is good news. Thanks for the info betovernetcapper.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by betovernetcapper

Illinois State Rep Jay Hoffman introduced a bill that would allow ADWs to operate legally. It is HB 964. What can be done is to contact your state reps & senators and request it's passage. It's pretty much of a no brainer for all but a very few politicians in extremely conservative areas. A few thousand calls and emails should do it.

The IRB is said to support this bill, but it's important to remember that the IRB doesn't create the law, merely enforces it.

So if you'd like Illinois to have ADWs, make a phone call. Or if you'd rather, just complain about it. It's all good.

thanks for the info.

where did you get the info highlighted above? conservatives have no clout in this state, so I'm wondering how this issue might hinge on a few conservatives. If you can reveal who these few extreme conservatives are who are standing in the way, let me know and I will contact them directly.

also why do you always make the assumption that any person who complains on here has done nothing else tangible, like write or call?

[betovernetcapper]

At every hearing regarding any type of gambling, there is some very conservative religious group, that I assume carries some weight in one or two districts. They seem to oppose any form of gambling and probably music/dancing and any form of vice.
RE the bill, without a lot of public support, legislators try to pile on various riders like slot machines at tracks, support for the County Fair races and anything else they think they can get through. With every rider the bill becomes more attractive to some legislators and less to others. It's like that with most legislation. A clean bill as written should pass.
People in other states that would like to lend assistance might make a phone call to Gov Pat Quinn and request the passage of this bill. His # is 217-782-0244.

[Striker]

Originally Posted by betovernetcapper

Illinois State Rep Jay Hoffman introduced a bill that would allow ADWs to operate legally. It is HB 964. What can be done is to contact your state reps & senators and request it's passage. It's pretty much of a no brainer for all but a very few politicians in extremely conservative areas. A few thousand calls and emails should do it.

The IRB is said to support this bill, but it's important to remember that the IRB doesn't create the law, merely enforces it.

So if you'd like Illinois to have ADWs, make a phone call. Or if you'd rather, just complain about it. It's all good.

My guess is that the bill Lou Lang introduced, HB 995 which extends the ADW bill until June 30th, has a better chance to pass since it is more short term and was filed and referred to the Rules Committee 4 days after the bill that Hoffman introduced was referred to the rules committee. Given that Lang is on the Rules Committee if he was content with HB 964 passing, there would be no reason to introduce another bill.

[olddaddy]

Contacting your elected officials is not the only thing that people can do. Contact the adw that has your account. Ask them what are their efforts are in this matter. I got nowhere doing this but maybe they will at least give a response if enough customers bug them. Politicians hearing from their constituents is good but lobbyists sometimes can do more.

[betovernetcapper]

Originally Posted by olddaddy

Contacting your elected officials is not the only thing that people can do. Contact the adw that has your account. Ask them what are their efforts are in this matter. I got nowhere doing this but maybe they will at least give a response if enough customers bug them. Politicians hearing from their constituents is good but lobbyists sometimes can do more.

Each ADW has it's own agenda, which is usually something that would give them exclusive rights or at least a competitive advantage. One of the early versions of the bill banned all ADWs except those that were owned by an Illinois racetrack. At least at the time the only ADW that fit that model was TwinSpires,(Arlington Park). AP probably does have the political clout to get an ADW bill passed, but also has a belief that without ADWs they would get all of the traffic back in their OTBs and track. Not going to happen but that seems to be their opinion. It doesn't hurt to call them but I wouldn't get my hopes up. HB

[Mr_Ed]

Illinois numbers.

Read it and weep:

http://www2.illinois.gov/irb/Documen...l%20Report.PDF