Commission passes on parimutuel betting facility

BUFFALO (WNE) — The Johnson County Commissioners did not take action during their April 19 meeting on a proposal from Evanston-based company Wyoming Downs to open a 30-machine off-track betting facility in the county.
At the recent meeting, Johnson County Sheriff Rod Odenbach and Buffalo Police Chief Sean Bissett shared their concerns about the potential facility.
Both Odenbach and Bissett said they were opposed to the facility, primarily citing concerns that it might require more law enforcement presence and that neither the sheriff's office nor police department has additional patrols available.
Wyoming Downs had proposed the 30-machine facility be located at 75 N. Bypass Road, which houses both the Quality Inn and Albertano's Authentic Mexican Food.
Jill Jarrard, a Wyoming Downs representative, said the facility would feature only parimutuel betting machines. Parimutuel betting is most commonly associated with betting on horse races, where all bettors place bets into a pool and the pool sum is paid out to an unlimited number of winners.
The proposed Wyoming Downs Johnson County facility would have had the same style of machines — known as historical horse racing terminals - as Wyoming Downs' 14 other locations in the state. The terminals look and operate like slot machines, though bettors are actually betting on the outcomes of previously run horse races.
Wyoming Downs was primarily interested in opening a facility in Johnson County because it noticed that a significant number of people from Buffalo are betting at the company's Sheridan location, according to Jarrard. 
After much discussion, the commissioners indicated that they would heed the advice of local law enforcement and not move forward with approving the facility.
 
This story was posted on April 21, 2022.