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Monday, December 21, 2009

One Step Backwards, Two Steps Back

One would think it is 1910, not coming up on 2010. In New York the head of the Catskill OTB wants to ban out of state ADW's from the state. "Groth said out-of-state account wagering firms such as YouBet.com should not be allowed to accept bets from New York residents."

It of course, is all about the slice of a dwindling pie, and taking more money off of horseplayers (as well as inconveniencing them) through a de-facto takeout increase.

"Such ADWs offer New York residents rebates that OTB cannot afford and at the same time are not subject to the same statutory fees as OTB, he said."

So instead of asking for changes to compete and grow business, we run back to the protectionist dogma. Racing has a long way to go before we start growing the pie instead of fighting over it.

4 comments:

J Murphy said...

The same is true for NJ. You can only use the state-run phone/web accounts for wagering and are blocked from wagering with any out-of-state operator.
Oh and you can't watch NYRA races on their internet feed.

Anonymous said...

Groth is the same genius who in the face of overwhelming evidence of a fix in the 2002 BC Pick 6 said

"Our records indicate he placed the bet at 2:14 p.m. and the race went off at 2:37 p.m.," Groth said Tuesday. "I certainly don't want to second-guess the investigation or the state, but all they should discover is that he was a lucky guy who had a lucky day." (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/12/national/main529065.shtml)

How the hell does that guy still have a job? He is a poster child for how *$#!@d up the racing business is.

dana said...

I could be wrong but I think NYRA Rewards accounts give better rebates than Twinspires/Youbet. So if they succeed are the choices OTB and NYRA or only OTB? Because if it's OTB & NYRA I'm going with NYRA and I assume I'm not alone, so what's the point? I will be very soured on racing if this asinine step backwards takes place.

Cangamble said...

Great way to get more people to bet offshore.
I don't even know why OTBs are needed in today's day and age.