Today controversial new gambling machines will debut at Kentucky Downs racetrack. The gambling expansion has been praised by some, but criticized by others who think that the games are illegal. Challenges to the legality of the machines is currently in the appellate court.

The state of Kentucky only allows pari-mutuel gaming. Slot machines and other types of casino games are banned by law. The new machines at the central Kentucky racetrack are slot-like instant racing games. The machines simulate real races from the past, some reaching back several years. The games do not give any indication of what race it is. There are no dates or horse names. Players then pick a random horse, knowing nothing about it, and then win money based on how it places.

To some, it’s a fun way to bet money on horse races without having to actually be at the horse races, which is kind of odd for being at a racetrack. For others, it is a blatant way to sneak slot machines into the track. The rows of machines at Kentucky Downs, with their bright lights and sounds, make it look like a casino. According to some opponents, that is what Kentucky Downs has become.

Kent Ostrander, executive director of the Family Foundation, which opposes the machines, says that it is “just an underhanded way to get these machines in the state even before the Court of Appeals have made its final ruling.”

The Kentucky Racing Commission ruled that the instant racing machines are a type of pari-mutuel gaming, not slot machines, and are therefore allowed in the state of Kentucky. Two different groups challenged that ruling and the appellate court has not yet ruled on those challenges. Kentucky is now only the second state to try instant racing machines, with Arkansas the first.

Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Georgia are trying to pass legislation that could potentially allow betting on horse races. That would require a constitutional amendment, since pari-mutuel betting is currently illegal in the state.

The legislation is House Resolution 186 and if the state passes it, residents would get to vote on whether or not to allow pari-mutuel betting on horse races in a statewide referendum. The resolution was proposed by Representative Harry Geisinger. If approved by voters, a portion of the revenue from the betting would placed into a budget called the Pari-mutuel Wagering Proceeds. That money would be used to supplement state funding for scholarships, student loans, trauma care services and more.

In addition to generating revenue that is much needed in state that is making budget cuts to slash the deficit, track betting would create jobs. According to Geisinger, a horse gambling industry in the state would create 10,000 jobs within the first three years.

On Wednesday, the legislation passed the House Regulated Industries Committee by a unanimous vote. The resolution would next need to clear the House Rules Committee in order for it to come to a full House vote. Because a ratification by the voters would involve an amending of the state constitution, the resolution requires a two-thirds supermajority vote to pass the House.

Geisinger said “as Georgians across the state continue to struggle to find employment, the legislature must look for ways to bring much-needed jobs to our state.” He said that “expanding our state’s horse industry is a simple way to do just that.” If voters ratify the amendment, Geisinger plans to introduce a companion bill that gives regulatory power of the horse betting industry to the Georgia Horse Racing Commission.

The greatest generation, the lost generation, the baby boomers, generation X and now… the Facebook generation. I have to say that it seems like the generations are going down hill. I knew things were getting bad when my Aunt’s best friend, a retired schoolteacher who is pushing 60, friend requested me on Facebook.

My Aunt’s best friend isn’t the only person who has caught wind about what all the hip kids are doing these days. Betfair, a UK-based online gambling company, is joining the likes of Goldman Sachs and placing their bets on the United States legalizing online gambling in the near not-to-distant future. “We want to bring the Facebook generation to the track,” says Gerard Cunningham, head of Betfair’s U.S. Operations.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say he hopes to bring the track to the Facebook generation. Plans include the hefty $50 million investment/acquisition of Los Angeles-based American TV Games Network or “TVG.” TVG operates a television channel that broadcasts horse racing to 32 million homes throughout the United States.

In Silicon Valley, Cunningham and company are constructing a technical team that will fuse the television property with a powerful website to stream live horse racing and incorporate social networking (because the kids love social networking), Twitter feeds, etc.

Currently, Betfair is only involved in horse racing and steering clear of any legal road bumps. “When other forms of gambling become legal, we’ll be ready,” he says. “Until then, if it’s even a gray area we’re not going to touch it.”