With the Malta National Lottery, IGT and Churchill Downs take HHR outside of the US.

 International Game Technology (IGT) and Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) have made a deal for the Malta National Lottery to give historical horse racing (HHR) games. This will make them the first lottery outside of the US.
 IGT  Horse racing at Churchill Downs in the past
 In the first deal, IGT will give technology to IZIBINGO, which will be the first Malta National Lottery HHR site.  They will use their Exacta Connect system solution to power the HHR betting floor. Exacta Services is a branch of Churchill Downs. 

 People can bet on horse races that have already happened with HHR tools.  The information on these devices is from the early 1990s, and it has been erased of any details about each race, like which rider or horse won.

 These machines look like transitional slot machines, and some of them have slot-like features.

 After that, this deal will grow, and IGT and Exacta will run HHR at other National Lottery venues in Malta.  Before, IGT and CDI only offered their services in the US.

 People who play the National Lottery will be able to play more than 80 IGT HHR games.  Some of the games are Stinkin' Rich Skunks Gone Wild!, Wolf Run Gold, and Cleopatra Gold. 

 IGT and Churchill Downs have room to grow even more, right?
 Exacta president Jeff Lind called the deal a "exciting" first step in the company's plans to grow internationally. 

 "This growth is still being driven by the fun of HHR gaming and the ability of our Exacta Connect system to adapt to different markets and legal environments," he said.

 Nick Khin, who is IGT's COO for games, calls the deal "an exciting growth milestone."

 "It shows how good our HHR content and hardware portfolio is and how relevant it is around the world."

 National Lottery CEO Johann Schembri says that the first HHR systems should be up and running in a few weeks.

 "This first installation at IZIBINGO and other sites in our lottery network in the coming weeks is the result of a lot of hard work and is a big step towards our goal of changing how the National Lottery works." 

 "Working with Exacta and IGT, two of the biggest technology companies in this market in the world, has helped us create the perfect showcase for this product as we try to take this idea around the world."

 The doors to IZIBINGO will open for business for the first time today, July 4. 

 HHR in the US is still uncertain.
 The choice to look outside of the US may come at a time when people in some states are becoming less sure about the future of HHR.

 This year, Minnesota passed a law that says all kinds of HHR tools are illegal in the state.  Customers will no longer be able to get HHR services at Canterbury Park or Running Aces.

 Idaho has also had a ban since 2015.  Machines had already been put in at Idaho Falls's Les Bois Park, Greyhound Park and the Double Down Bar & Grill.  Lawmakers banned the games because they said they were misled about what they were like.

 Butch Otter, who was governor at the time, blocked the ban, but it went into effect after the Coeur d'Alene tribe, which runs a casino that competes with the racetracks, sued and won.  In 2018, a vote measure to make HHR machines legal again was turned down.

 Kentucky used to ban HHR machines, but in 2021, some of that ban was lifted so that machines could only be used at racetracks.