Texas seeks restraining order against Twinspires

The state of Texas has filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction that would prevent Churchill Downs Inc. from accepting bets from state residents through its account-wagering company, according to court records.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Collin County District Court, was filed in response to Churchill’s entry into the state in January despite laws restricting parimutuel wagering in Texas to licensed racetracks. The Texas Racing Commission sent a cease-and-desist order to Churchill’s account-wagering company, Twinspires, in February, but the suit indicates that Churchill did not comply with the order.

Churchill spokeswoman Jeanna Burkhead Cunningham said the company would not comment on the lawsuit on Wednesday morning, including an inquiry over whether Twinspires continues to accept bets from Texas residents.

The suit was first reported by Horseracingnation.com.

Churchill has been aggressively pushing the reach of its account-wagering activities over the past two years in an attempt to establish a legal foundation for entering markets that have been traditionally closed off. Texas is one of the biggest markets in the country, but the state has strict rules on parimutuel gambling and is one of the few states in the United States that has yet to authorize sports betting.

Earlier this year, a federal court dismissed an attempt by Michigan to revoke the state-issued license held by Twinspires after the company refused to comply with a cease-and-desist order there. The court ruled that a Michigan regulation tying an account-wagering license to a live-racing licensee in the state “interferes” with the legal framework established by the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978.

Churchill had argued in court filings that its account-wagering bets were accepted in Oregon because its bet-processing hub was located in that state, and not in the state where the resident placed the bet. While a lower court accepted that principle, the court that dismissed the case did not cite that rationale in the dismissal.

The Interstate Horseracing Act requires agreements from the “host” regulatory authority, the racetrack providing the signal, and the horsemen of the simulcasting track. At a Texas Racing Commission meeting on Feb. 11, the executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association, Tracy Sheffield, told commissioners that the organization was opposed to the entry of Twinspires into the state.

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