Can Sports Betting Help Racing?

by Ed Meyer

posted on July 27, 2022 in Educational Articles, General Discussion, Horse Racing, Other Events, WinningPonies.com | Comments Off on Can Sports Betting Help Racing?

We’ve all made a couple bucks bet with a buddy and watched the big game. – The idea is pretty much the same, but now we could have a central location to make our big bet on the game and catch a few races before kickoff. What more could a gambler want??

As sports gambling is gaining traction around the nation, one would have to wonder when it would be available in their state. If you look below the landscape has changed dramatically. Here are the states in 2022 which have a form of legal sports betting according to SportsBetting.Legal

  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Louisiana
  • Maryland
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio*** Legal but have not launched ***
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Washington
  • Washington D.C.
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

 

  • 5 million — Bets placed online/offshore
  • $6.8 billion — Total Super Bowl betting handle
  • $154.7 million — Legal bets placed in Nevada
  • $6.65 billion — Gray-market bets placed everywhere else
  • 97.7% — Percentage of all bets placed through non-US-licensed means
  • 25% — Increase in total Super Bowl bets from the previous year

Pretty staggering numbers indeed and a gambler’s paradise. – By offering up gaming, sports wagering, and horse racing, you have turned your betting facility into an entertainment destination where guests will want to come and savor all of the gambling cuisine available.

With Sports Betting ready to blow the top off; it would be a great idea to incorporate wagering that would involve horse racing. – Having a wager where you could add in selected horses or wagers as part of a parlay. Example: Three football teams to cover the spread and three separate horse races to kick up the parlay odds? You get the point.

Cross-promote for double points on loyalty cards that use sports betting cards to make horse wagers. Sound easy? Well, it could be. In some states you can fund your sports account and wager as long as you’re in a state that offers legal sports gambling. If it sounds familiar, it surely sounds like horse racing ADW’s. – I would bet dollars to donuts that having sports betting accounts funded legally would allow for those same funds to make horse wagers. Once again, some hoops to jump through but this is foreign territory.

I think racing’s magical mind has grown stale. We need to create more big jackpot wagers where even the smallest track could see a boost. Just make the wager a little more challenging and you’ll see the carryover jump. – The important part in the sports book is to an area designated for racing. Give the players a buffet and they’ll come back for seconds.

The tracks have to focus on their product and stream the live races for free on their website. With TVG evolving into Fanduel TV for sports and a secondary channel TVG2 for racing, the landscape is losing one of its biggest outlets to watch and wager. – By showing your live streaming for free would you attract more gamblers to watch and wager? I think it would help the bottom line.

Many have turned away from racing as the profit margin is higher on other forms of entertainment. – By cross-promoting wagering as a whole and not leaving anyone off the table sounds like an interesting idea. In short, yes. Sports gambling could benefit racing and the facility, by offering up a one-stop shop for all of your wagering needs.

Just think, catch the early double, make a play on the 4:00pm game, and hang around to play some of your favorite slots at half-time. Sounds like a full day of one-of-a-kind entertainment. Sign me up.