Summary
The Connecticut Supreme Court held that the statutory moratorium on expanding off-track betting facilities did not prohibit Autotote Enterprises from broadcasting live racing while advertising the availability of telephone wagering. The court concluded that viewers’ private homes were not off-track betting facilities under the governing statute and regulations. It also held that the proposed program was consistent with Connecticut’s statutory public policy permitting specified forms of gambling and declined to address broader policy concerns regarding gambling addiction.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether General Statutes § 12-571a's moratorium on the expansion of off-track betting facilities prohibited Autotote from broadcasting live racing while advertising the availability of telephone wagering.
- Whether Autotote's proposed combination of live racing broadcasts and telephone-wagering advertisements violated Connecticut's general public policy against gambling because the program was not specifically authorized by law.
Holdings
- The moratorium in General Statutes § 12-571a does not prohibit Autotote from broadcasting live racing while simultaneously advertising the availability of telephone wagering because the broadcasts received in private homes would not create new off-track betting facilities.
- The proposed combination of live racing broadcasts and advertisements for telephone wagering did not violate Connecticut's public policy against gambling because off-track betting and related advertising are specifically permitted by statute and regulation.
Key quotations
“The households receiving the plaintiffs proposed broadcasts therefore would not be new off-track betting facilities, and the plaintiffs proposal would not violate the moratorium.” (157)
“The general public policy against gambling, as expressed in §§ 53-278a through 53-278g, does not apply to this method of gambling and does not prohibit the advertising of this form of gambling.” (161)
“These considerations, however, he outside of the purview of this court and properly are addressed to the General Assembly and other policymakers.” (163)
Factual background
Autotote operated Connecticut's off-track betting system and proposed to contract with cable television operators to broadcast live racing and jai alai events while advertising the availability of telephone wagering accounts. The Division of Special Revenue ruled that the advertisements would create off-track betting facilities beyond the eighteen-facility moratorium in General Statutes § 12-571a. The proposed broadcasts would be received in private homes, which were not owned or leased by Autotote and would not be used as premises for accepting wagers from the public. Connecticut had previously operated a substantially similar televised racing and telephone-wagering program, and the state had represented during the sale of the off-track betting system that its operation complied with applicable law.
Procedural history
Autotote petitioned the Division of Special Revenue for a declaratory ruling concerning whether General Statutes § 12-571a prohibited its proposed cable broadcasts of live racing accompanied by advertisements for telephone wagering. The agency ruled that the advertising would violate the statutory moratorium, and the gaming policy board approved that ruling. The trial court sustained Autotote's administrative appeal, concluding that the moratorium did not apply to private households receiving the broadcasts. The state appealed, and the Supreme Court transferred the appeal to itself and affirmed.