On Monday Virgin Islands Governor John deJongh Jr. signed five bills into law and vetoed three. One of the bills now approved is the Virgin Islands Horse Racing Industry Assistance Act of 2009, which will bring slot machines to Randall “Doc” James Racetrack on St. Croix and Video Lottery Terminals to Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack on St. Thomas. The United States Virgin Islands is an unincorporated territory of the United States comprising St. Croix to the south, with St. John, St. Thomas, and smaller islands.

The only operating casino on St Croix is the Divi Casino offering games such as blackjack, craps, roulette, Caribbean Poker, slot machines and more. DeJongh commented that while he agreed with the spirit of the bill to develop the horse racing industry it did conflict with some policy provisions of the Casino Control Act. He added that there could be some disagreement between authorities of the V I Lottery Commission and the Casino Control Commission.

The Governor also said that two problems with the bill must be resolved immediately. The bill does not exclude VLTs at the St. Thomas race track from coming under the Casino Control Commission, leading to a potential conflict with the Lottery Commission, and the new law seems to grant a casino licence to the St Thomas racetrack, which was not the intention of the Legislature. According to the Virgin Islands Horse Racing Industry Assistance Act of 2009, the purpose of racinos is to increase and supplement parimutuel betting revenues in order to support the horse racing industry and earn money for the government.

The Casino Control Act of 1995 limited casino gambling on St. Croix to facilities inside hotels and was designed to stimulate the construction of additional hotel rooms on St. Croix. However, casino players remain mostly local and the tourist industry and hotel developments have not seen the expected boost. Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) have been operating in the St. Thomas/St. John district since 2002 after four years of debate, and have proved to be popular. The racino bill allows for a maximum of 200 slot machines, and Traxco, which operates the St Croix racetrack, plans to take full advantage of that potential, saying it will cost about $4 million to expand the gaming centre underneath the grandstand. (E-05.12.10)

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