In last week’s election, voters turned back a proposal that would have allowed an additional type of gambling in Park County.

Nearly 59% of voters, or 8,726 local residents, opposed a measure that would have opened the door to pari-mutuel wagering. The remaining 41%, or 6,073 voters, supported it.

The measure would have enabled businesses to offer simulcasts of and betting on events like horse races — from other parts of Wyoming or even the Kentucky Derby — and would have cleared the way for businesses to install Historic Horse Racing Terminals.

The terminals bear a strong resemblance to slot machines, though they are different in the way that they operate. Across the state, the vast majority of pari-mutuel betting is done on the terminals — $793.4 million out of nearly $800 million last year, according to state figures. Boosters of pari-mutuel betting note that it provides another source of revenue for local governments, which get 1% of the total amount wagered in their cities or counties.

Proponents estimated that allowing pari-mutuel betting in Park County could bring in around $341,000 a year in new government revenue.

County commissioners put the item on the ballot at the request of 307 Horse Racing. It’s a new business, owned by Josh Allison of Cody, that is joining the ranks of those staging horse races in Wyoming. While Allison said he hoped to bring horse races to Cody someday, he and his partners plan to start in Gillette and then look to Casper and Cheyenne.

There appears to have been some uncertainty about pari-mutuel wagering among voters, as more than 2,000 people — or roughly 12% of those who turned out to vote — left that part of their ballot blank.