The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has notified six additional simulcast
outlets that it is terminating their simulcast contracts, effective January 31.
The action is a follow-up to a similar announcement made last week
when NYRA shut down four simulcast outlets connected to a recent federal
indictment involving alleged instances of illegal gambling, money laundering
and horse doping. NYRA is currently undertaking an aggressive review of its
simulcast agreements with a number of secondary simulcast outlets.
The outlets receiving termination notices were: Racing and Gaming Services
Inc. located in St. Kitts, West Indies; Lakes Region Greyhound Park located in
Belmont, New Hampshire; Capital Sports Limited located in Canberra, Australia;
Darwin All Sports Ltd. located in Darwin, Australia; Coeur d’Alene Casino
located in Worley, Idaho; and the Excelsior Casino located in Aruba.
The next step for NYRA will be to revise its simulcast contracts to require a
new set of disclosures, background information and information sharing, which
will be required of all simulcast outlets wishing to receive and accept wagers
on the NYRA signal. Those entities that are unwilling or unable to meet the
higher standards will not be permitted to resume betting into the NYRA
pari-mutuel pools.
“The message NYRA is delivering today is one we hope the entire racing
industry will follow — we must choose integrity over revenue,” NYRA Senior Vice
President William Nader said.
NYRA estimates that the annual loss in handle on its races from the simulcast
sites it has terminated to date could be as much as $300 million.