While Exchange Wagering seems to have hit a brick wall in California (there were reports Cal Expo was going to offer it starting in December), the DRF reports thoroughbred horsemen in NJ have reached a tentative agreement with Betfair to offer exchange wagering on Monmouth Park races starting with the opening of the 2014 race meet. Such wagering would be restricted to NJ residents. The NJRC has created rules for this type of wagering which is being reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Once reviewed and approved by the OAG a 60 day comment period will start after which the NJRC can formally adopt the rules and exchange wagering will be off to the races.
No news at this time where the standardbred horsemen and tracks stand with regards to Exchange Wagering. Whether they wait to see how this form of wagering works at Monmouth for fear of killing handle or they join the debut remains to be seen. Certainly at Freehold, it seems Exchange Wagering may be the only way to get more interest in its product as their regular pools are relatively small; of no interest to the whales. As for the Meadowlands, which has been trying to increase on-track handle and having some success at it, there is an element of risk to their on-track handle growth though I think Exchange Wagering would increase wagering overall, especially in exotic pools since Exchange Wagering would only be for 'Win' wagers. I suspect the standardbred horsemen were hoping to learn from the Cal Expo experiment but since that experiment has been stalled indefinitely, harness racing in NJ may have to dip its toes into the water first,
No comments:
Post a Comment