Re: Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol.
150, No. 24 — June 11.
From:
Jeff Platt, President
Horseplayers Association of North America
93 Campbell Road
Keswick, Virginia 22947
Keswick, Virginia 22947
July 20,
2016
Mr. Baird,
I am writing
you on behalf of over 3,000 members of the Horseplayers Association of North
America – many of whom are Canadian – to express our profound objection to the
language published in the Canada Gazette-Vol. 150, No. 24 — June 11, 2016
regarding “pay out price” definitions.
As you know,
pari-mutuel pools are finite and paid out on the sum of the pool minus takeout,
divided by the amount of money in winning tickets. A ticket with a $100,000
pool after takeout with one winner holding a twenty cent ticket receives
$100,000. If tracks are allowed to publish winning tickets in, for example, a
$2 denomination (as proposed) the payout price shared with the public would be
$1 million dollars.
This is a
fictitious, made-up number. There was not one million dollars in the pool to
pay out.
This
practice is clearly, we feel, anti-consumer, and should never be allowed. Another
regulated business – the lottery – would (rightfully) not be able to promote and
advertise a $1 winning ticket that truly paid $10 million, was $100 million at
a $10 ticket denomination. Horse racing should not be allowed to do this,
either.
Pari-mutuel
betting relies on regulators to protect the betting public. Promoting pools
that are fiction or posting payouts that are not real strikes at the very heart
of the game’s integrity. With close to $2B bet by customers in Canada, this is
a very real problem that needs to be addressed.
We propose
that the language be changed to posting payouts at “the pools lowest base wager
amount”, and “in no way will tracks be allowed to publish a payout greater than
the money in the pool.”
We believe
that will solve the problem, for an issue that has gone on for too long.
Sincerely,
Jeff Platt
President,
HANA
No comments:
Post a Comment