Horseracing and online betting operator Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has reportedly lined up a brick-and-mortar partner for California’s anticipated regulated online poker market.
On Friday, OnlinePokerReport reported that CDI had reached a tentative online poker deal with Oceans 11, a Rat Pack-themed cardroom located in Oceanside, just outside San Diego. Official confirmation of the deal has yet to be issued by either party.
CDI’s thriving TwinSpires online advance deposit wagering business is already based in Mountain View, California. CDI has long expressed an interest in the US regulated online gambling sector, having attempted but failed to secure a deal that would have seen CDI act as the “exclusive online vendor” of Atlantic City’s Showboat casino. CDI also recently acquired social gaming operator Big Fish Games, which was CDI’s top earner in Q1.
Meanwhile, CDI has filed a lawsuit against Daily Racing Form, accusing the media outlet’s DRF Bets wagering service of violating the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHRA). In a suit filed on May 18 in Jefferson Circuit Court in CDI’s home state of Kentucky, CDI accuses DRF of taking wagers on races at CDI tracks – including the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks – without CDI’s permission.
The IHRA prohibits individuals from accepting “an interstate off-track wager on the outcome of a horse race without the consent of the horse racing association which conducts the business.” CDI is seeking unspecified financial damages and court costs from DRF as well as an order preventing DRF from further unauthorized online betting on CDI races.
DRF Bets began processing online wagers in 2011, using TwinSpires’ Pennsylvania-based rival Xpressbet.com, which is owned by The Stronach Group. Neither Xpressbet nor Stronach are listed as defendants in CDI’s lawsuit.
