Time for a New Look at the V75

With the success of the jackpot wagers, it is time to take a new look at the V75 wager and bringing it to America.

While admittedly these jackpot wagers are churn-killers, the fact is a large part of the handle on any daily basis is spent on jackpot wagers.  While in the long run these wagers are not good for the general public, it may be a case of 'give the customer what they want' which is wagers where a little money can earn you a nice fortune.  Hopefully, success on the V75 will encourage gamblers to play churn generating wagers.

While jackpot wagers hurt churn, the V75 would hurt churn less so than wagers such as the Jackpot Hi-5 where the jackpot pays out only if one winning ticket is played.  The V75 pays out the jackpot to all who select the 7 winners.  For those who are unfamiliar with the V75, here is how it works.

On a specific Saturday, one track hosts the V75 races, typically seven races in a row.  The base wager is a dime per selection.  Of the amount dedicated to payoffs, 40% of the pool is dedicated to those who select 7 out of 7; 20% goes to those who select 6 out of 7; 40% goes to those who select 5 out of 7.  If no one selects all 7 horses, this portion of the pool carries over to the following week as part of the jackpot.  Payoffs to those who select 6 or 5 correct horses is made unless the payoff is less than $3 per combination in which case the money is added to the jackpot.

Of course, what makes this wager so successful in Sweden is the fact lottery agents sell tickets for the V75 as well as the tracks.  So logically, the question may be asked, do we need to partner with the lottery in promoting this wager?  Obviously, it would help but it shouldn't be a show stopper.  Setting up the V75 fields early in the week and allowing ADWs and tracks to sell tickets once the fields are finalized (say starting Wednesday till off-time on Saturday) should allow pools to grow nicely, but trying to partner with the lottery shouldn't be ignored.  For example, in New Jersey, the privatized lottery has been under performing.  The possibility of increasing revenue may be tempting to the lottery.

Of course, as is the case in North America, new wagers are only accepted once they prove to be a success so it may be up to one track or state to lead the way and offer the wager.  Should the wager be successful, other states will allow their tracks to offer the wager so where initially the V75 may be offered at one track (though offered for wagering elsewhere), the number of states/tracks which may be part of the V75 circuit will expand.  Same way with the state lotteries offering the wager; success in one state will spur other lotteries to offer the wager.  The key is there can only be one V75 wager in the nation each week.

Why the V75 over other exotic wagers?  If we can get state lotteries to offer wagering on the V75, we will be able to expand racing's reach to non-racing customers, hopefully getting them interested in racing.  Failing that, offering the wager through the lottery will get racing additional funds from a segment of the population which traditionally doesn't contribute to racing.

When you think about it, the question really isn't "Should we offer a V75 wager?", it is "How can we afford not to offer the V75?".  It's time has come.