When the State Senate failed on Tuesday to pass a bill that would have rescued New York City OTB from bankruptcy, Sen. Eric Adams, chairman of the Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, warned: “A ‘no’ vote . . . lights the wick to a stick of dynamite that will blow up our racing industry.”
Yesterday, with NYC OTB closed after 40 years in business, Aqueduct Racetrack felt the first vibrations of the coming explosion. While on-track and interest betting roughly were comparable to the totals of two weeks ago (Aqueduct was closed last Wednesday due to weather), intrastate simulcast betting within New York was down nearly 50 percent, from $1,624,256 to $862,361.
The State Racing and Wagering Board and the New York Racing Association took steps yesterday to stem the bleeding caused by OTB’s shutdown.
The board approved an emergency rule change allowing customers to establish ADW (advance deposit wagering) accounts over the Internet, for phone and on-line betting with NYRA, Nassau and Catskill OTBs, and Yonkers. Before, you had to provide identification, in person or by mail or fax, to prove you are a New York resident.
The board also approved a NYRA Rewards promotion that doubles incentive points for new account holders.
As the chief creditor of OTB, NYRA (which is owed $27.5 million) was set to receive the bulk of OTB’s ADW wagering under the bankruptcy agreement. But phone and Internet betting accounted for only 20 percent of OTB’s handle. The other 80 percent came from betting at the parlors and restaurants. Now that they are closed, most of that money could either go to illegal bookmakers or disappear entirely.
Also, OTB is no longer showing the races on TV, and NYRA is prohibited from streaming its races live on the Internet — both deterrents to phone and on-line betting.
NYRA ran shuttle bus service yesterday from select OTB parlors in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, but just 48 fans took advantage.
Under OTB’s closure plan, customers may request withdrawals from their accounts in person or by mail at three branches that will remain open until Monday, Dec. 13, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. The locations are 107-40 Queens Blvd., Forest Hills; 515 Seventh Ave., Manhattan; and 6719 Bay Parkway, Brooklyn.
