Fremin v. Boyd Racing, LLC

Louisiana law authorizes pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing. All other forms of betting on the result of horse races are illegal. In 2021, the Louisiana legislature passed statutes which amended the statutes that regulate betting on horse racing, to incorporate historical horse racing as a form of pari-mutuel wagering. Plaintiffs sued challenging these statutes as unconstitutional for allowing historical horse racing without prior voter approval. The court ruled that statutory amendments that incorporated historical horse racing as a form of authorized pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing without requiring prior local voter approval were unconstitutional under Article XII, section 6(C) of the Louisiana Constitution, which as amended in 1996, requires voter approval for any new form of gaming not specifically authorized before the effective date of the amendment.