Kentucky slots bill entered

Rep. Joe Barrows, a Democrat who represents three central Kentucky counties, introduced a bill into the Kentucky legislature Thursday that calls for a referendum on whether casinos should be legalized at Kentucky's eight racetracks, according to a horse industry advocacy group based in the state.

Officials from the advocacy group, Kentucky Equine Education Project, said that the proposed referendum on the November ballot would ask voters to approve full casino gambling exclusively at the state's eight racetracks.

The education group has spent $2 million in recent weeks on an advertising campaign supporting the referendum, including billboards and television commercials.

* A House bill seeking to ban gambling over the Internet introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia on Thursday includes an exemption for horse racing, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's chief lobbying official, Greg Avioli, said on Thursday.

The bill would amend the federal Wire Act to include betting over the Internet but exempts existing state-regulated gambling activities, which would include interstate betting on racing, Avioli said.