Depending on where you live, the type of gambling that is legal will vary. Some states don’t have lotteries. Some states don’t allow slots. And so, depending on what is allowed, that can determine what is available to you. That leads us to today’s question:
In Kentucky, we have racinos instead of casinos. What is the difference? Both have slot machines.
Sharron B.
Slot machines are actually illegal in Kentucky. But you walk in and see what look like slot machines, right? So what gives?
They’re not actually slot machines – they’re what’s known as Historic Horse Racing machines.
These machines determine their outcome not by the use of a random number generator, but instead by pulling from a database of previously run horse racing events, following the same general gambling rules and regulations as when you bet on a horse race at the Kentucky Derby or other events.
States have taken this route at times to help backstop the horse racing industry, which has been in decline. By allowing them slot-like devices that still bet on “horse races” under the hood, it’s a loophole that helps them sustain themselves while giving players a betting format that feels more familiar, that of betting on a “slot outcome” even though it’s not.
In Kentucky, being a newer market, a lot of the games found on the casino floor will look familiar to you if you have been to Las Vegas. That’s because as companies have become more adept at designing games for the historic horse racing format, they can build game types that are closely enough aligned with popular brands to replicate the experience.
That said, even though the logos look familiar, and the reels are there with the symbols and setups you may know from a casino, it actually works completely differently. And that’s really the difference – how they work functionally is different, even if the final outcome for you as a player is pretty similar.
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