COLUMBUS - Pending legislation to allow installation of so-called video lottery terminals at Ohio's seven horse racetracks could turn them into virtual casinos, a newspaper reported.

The 22-page bill makes no mention of video lottery terminals and places few limits on the type of gambling allowed, as long as it is electronic, The Columbus Dispatch reported in its Wednesday editions.

For instance, the legislation would allow electronic versions of roulette, craps, poker and blackjack. The bill doesn't even require that the wagering equipment have a video screen, the newspaper said.

The bill, before the Senate Agriculture Committee, is speeding toward approval, possibly as soon as next week. Gov. Bob Taft staunchly opposes it, but sponsors may have the votes to override a veto.

Church groups are fighting the bill, threatening to take it to court or to submit it to the public for a vote. The way the bill is drafted, two-thirds approval by lawmakers can prevent a public referendum.

The Ohio Lottery Commission would choose from among a wide variety of gambling devices and receive advice from the tracks as to which are the most popular, said C. Paul Tipps, who represents International Gaming Technology, or IGT, the world's leading maker of gambling machines.

Greg Haught, an attorney representing Thistledown Racing Club near Cleveland, said the key to making casino-style games legal is that they are electronically operated, are administered by the lottery commission and depend on a "random number generator" to produce a winner.

Although the track casinos could operate 21 hours each day, they could sell liquor only during normal hours. No one younger than 21 would be allowed inside.

"It's Atlantic City," said David Zanotti, president of Ohio Roundtable, a Cleveland-area conservative research group that opposes the expansion of gambling.

Tipps said the bill would funnel 10.5 percent of the betting handle to purses and breeder fees, raising the quality of racing in Ohio.

"The higher the purses, the better the horses," he said, adding that wagering on electronic machines would not detract from betting on the horses.

IGT officials say the "gaming machine" has become the primary moneymaker for casinos over more-traditional table games.

The big bucks are in the huge jackpots generated by linked machines. The Ohio bill allows such electronic connections between devices at the same facilities or those at other tracks.

Haught acknowledged that some of the Ohio games would allow players to compete for bigger jackpots by pooling the play among all seven tracks.

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch

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