Off-track betting in New York to be revived
The New York racing industry is in bad shape after the closure of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation. The shutdown of the city OTB, which provided $700 million to the state and the racing industry between 2004 and
2009, has put the industry in imminent danger of losing massive revenue to illegal bookmakers. Today, however, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board took steps that will hopefully ensure that at least some of this revenue is captured.
"It is a major hole in the revenue stream for New York racing," board chairman John Sabini said. "However, I think [this] is an opportunity to hit the reset button here."
In an emergency meeting, the board approved a streamlined process for New York OTB bettors to quickly sign up through state-regulated betting websites on the internet.
A number of betting entities were authorized to start this process immediately so betters wouldn’t have to wait any longer to sign up. These entities included the Nassau and Catskill off-track betting corporations, the Saratoga
Springs and Yonkers harness tracks, and the New York Racing Association, which operates the state's thoroughbred tracks at Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct. It is expected that more OTBs and tracks will join the list.
"This is a crisis situation and we're trying to react because people will find their way to a barber shop or the corner bar (to bet), and that helps no one, not the racing industry or the state," said Sabini.
Sabini also expressed the concern that New York OTB bettors would now resort to ‘offshore’ or foreign gambling operations that do not share their millions of dollars worth of revenue with New York's racing industry and governments.
"We would hope the betting public would stay with the licensed, regulated entities where they will get a fair shake," Sabini said.
The new online system will take the place of a registration process that can take several days, making things much quicker and simpler for New York’s bettors. Furthermore, Sabini revealed, Gov. David Paterson (who drafted a rescue
plan for the city OTB which was rejected by the Senate on Thursday) has authorized a speeding-up of the rule-writing process.
The racing board has been cautious about its decision to allow online registration for betting, assured Sabini. He said that protections to verify age and identity have improved in recent years, and online registration was already
under the board’s consideration before the city OTB shut down. The New York City OTB’s closing only hastened the process, Sabini said.
The New York City OTB has 40% of New York’s horse racing handle, making up about $1 billion per year on harness and thoroughbred horse races. Paterson’s rescue plan would have allowed the city OTB to reorganize and avoid bankruptcy,
but it was rejected by Republican senators because it did not include help for regional OTBs.
A few New York City OTB parlours will remain open for the next few days to allow customers so that they can collect their winnings from previous bets and close accounts.
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