The town will move ahead with a proposal to consider off track betting for Fountain Hills.

The Town Council voted 4-2 Thursday to have staff prepare local regulations and a fee structure to allow local businesses to apply as off track betting sites in town.

The OTB would be subject to approval of the local regulations by the Town Council. An applicant would be subject to approval by the council as well as state racing regulators.

Town Attorney Andrew McGuire said there is only a small item in state statutes regarding towns that applies to local government. That states that any location not previously licensed for off site betting be approved by the town.

McGuire said he wants to establish some criteria for that approval, as many other communities have done.

OTB is operated in the Phoenix area by Turf Paradise, a racetrack in Phoenix, and is regulated by the state.

Races are simulcast to OTB sites where there is a betting window. The employees at the OTB site who operate the service are employees of Turf Paradise and are licensed themselves. Owners of the OTB site with a greater than 10 percent interest in the business are also required to be licensed.

Bruno’s Sports Bar on Parkview Avenue has expressed interest in applying for a license in Fountain Hills if the council allows it.

The town would be able to collect fees for licensing, as well as a sales tax on the wagers. 

According to a report from Turf Paradise there are 44 communities in the state that allow off track betting.

The hours of operation for OTB are already restricted to between 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Vice Mayor Henry Leger said he felt the council discussion last week was a little like getting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

“The first thing we need to decide is whether we want to bring off track betting into Fountain Hills,” Leger said. “Then we should decide on the regulations.”

Councilwoman Ginny Dickey said her decision regarding approval of the system would depend largely on what regulations were put into place.

McGuire said he does not want a blanket approval before putting it into a legal framework.

“This is kind of a chicken and egg thing for me,” Leger said. “We need to decide first if we want this, and then have a discussion about how to regulate.

“I don’t want to ask staff to do a lot of work if we are not going to allow off track betting in Fountain Hills.”

The council’s 4-2 vote was to have staff prepare a potential ordinance for Town Code that establishes criteria for considering an OTB site for Fountain Hills.

Council members Dickey, Cassie Hansen, Dennis Contino and Keith McMahan supported the plan. Leger and Mayor Jay Schlum voted no.