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BetMakers’ Dallas Baker Talks Fixed-Odds Wagering On Writers’ Room

Sorely needed in the American horse betting landscape, fixed-odds wagering–bets where the player is guaranteed the odds displayed at the time he or she bets a horse and isn't affected by late parimutuel odds drops–is set to debut in the States later this month at Monmouth Park via Australian bookmaking company BetMakers. Wednesday morning, BetMakers' head of international operations Dallas Baker joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to discuss the logistics of implementing a fixed-odds system to try to replicate its success in Australia, how confident he is that the technology will eventually be adopted nationwide, potential crossover with traditional sportsbooks and more.

Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Baker explained how a horseplayer at Monmouth can place a fixed-odds bet, saying, “There will be separate tellers for tote bets and fixed-odds bets, but you just go up to the teller as you normally would with a tote bet and say, 'I want $20 to win on number one in race one' or whatever it is, and away you go. There will be displays all around the course with what the fixed-odds market is. When you're betting fixed odds, the price at that time is the price you get, which is very important to the customer, but you'll also get to see the most recent fluctuations of that horse, since it's a liquid market. So you'll get an idea about what the popularity or the unpopularity of that horse has been as well.”

One of BetMakers' ultimate goals is to have fixed-odds wagering be available and attractive for sports bettors, and Baker said carving out even a small slice of the exploding sports betting market in America would be a major boon to racing.

“We've seen this great boom of sports betting in the past three years since PASPA [the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which effectively banned sports betting outside of a few states] was repealed, and the team that repealed it has been part of our team,” he said. “If you look in New Jersey alone, at the moment we're seeing close to $1 billion a month that's being invested in sports betting. As a racing industry, if we can tap into that and be moderately successful, get 10% of that figure, that's another $100 million being invested into racing, which, with the right modeling, can then go back towards funding the sport. The key to getting the sports gambler is giving the bookmakers something to market and fixed-odds betting is something the bookmakers want to market. I've spoken to a lot of the betting firms and they say they actually want to spend the majority of their marketing budget in the next few years on horse racing. That opens up a whole new gambit of people and organizations with deep pockets who really want to aggressively market racing to acquire new clients.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, the Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers laid out what to watch for on a blockbuster holiday weekend of racing, analyzed the most recent story about Bob Baffert in the Washington Post and announced a special on-scene show for the Writers' Room's upcoming 100th episode. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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New Jersey: Fixed-Odds Wagering Bill Headed To Governor’s Desk

Both the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly unanimously passed legislation to legalize fixed-odds wagering, and the bill will now head to Gov. Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Australian firm BetMakers has secured an exclusive 10-year agreement with New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen Association and Darby Development LLC., the operator of Monmouth Park racetrack, to deliver and manage fixed-odds wagering on Thoroughbred racing in New Jersey. BetMakers expects fixed-odds wagering be operational in time for Haskell Day on July 17.

Takeout on the fixed-odds wagers will 12.5 percent.

BetMakers' head of international operations Dallas Baker said the company hopes to see fixed-odds wagering revitalize the horse racing industry in the United States, increasing both handle and purse accounts, as it has done in Australia.

“Our ultimate goal is to have what happened in Australia over the last 10 years or so and after online betting was deregulated happen here,” Baker told the TDN. “In that time, the handle has doubled and purse money doubled as well. That's what we want to see here, too. The opportunity exists in the U.S. to have that happen here and on a quicker time line than 10 years.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Fixed-Odds Wagering Bill Passes in NJ, Expected to Begin Haskell Day

A bill legalizing fixed-odds wagering on horse races was passed unanimously by both houses in New Jersey and will now go to Governor Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it. Expectations are that fixed odds betting will begin July 17, the day of the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park.

“We've been pushing hard to get it up and running by the Haskell,” said Dallas Baker, the head of international operations for the Australian firm BetMakers, which will operate the fixed- odds betting. “That's always been our goal. We've got a lot of work to do, which is great. We've ve always been aiming for the Haskell and we're all confident that's when we can begin. It's go time.”

Monmouth Park has been a long-time advocate of fixed-odds wagering, hoping that it can do for U.S. racing what it did in Australia. Once legalized, fixed-odds betting exploded in Australia, leading to a sharp increase in total handle on racing and healthy purse increases.

“Our ultimate goal is to have what happened in Australia over the last 10 years or so and after online betting was deregulated happen here,” Baker said. “In that time, the handle has doubled and purse money doubled as well. That's what we want to see here, too. The opportunity exists in the U.S. to have that happen here and on a quicker time line than 10 years.”

With just 24.6 million residents, $25 billion is wagered annually on racing in Australia, or about $15 billion more than what is bet each year in the U.S.

Fixed-odds betting could also go a long way towards fixing what has become a serious problem for U.S. racing. Because large gamblers using computer programs to make their bets are allowed to bet at the very last second, it is common for odds to plunge on a horse during the running of the race. That, for obvious reasons, leaves a bad taste in the bettors' mouths.

With Monmouth long ago committed to the fixed-odds wagering, BetMakers has been looking to sign up other tracks to add to its betting menu. Baker would not say exactly how many have come on, but said he was pleased by the response.

“We've got quite a few tracks signed up and ready to go. Maybe a dozen,” Baker said. “What the bill allows is it provides the legalities to take fixed-odds bets as long as there are commercial terms in place with the other tracks. Quite a few signed up now and, hopefully, in next few weeks, we will get some more. We will also have a full menu of international racing.”

As of now, only New Jersey residents will be allowed to have fixed-odds accounts, but Baker said it should not take long for other states to come on board.

“We have spoken to a lot of other states and they have shown good interest in it,” he said. “But they were waiting to see the bill passed in New Jersey first. We see the roll out going very similar to what happened with PASPA (the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act). The obvious ones to take fixed- odds wagering on horses are the ones that already have sports betting.”

Once fixed-odds betting is widely available, the hope, Baker said, is that sports bettors who are now ignoring horse racing will be enticed to give the horses a try. That a fixed-odds wager closely resembles a typical sports bet is seen as a major selling point.

“The important thing is to zone in on the phenomenon that is sports betting in the U.S.,” he said. “We want to get those punters betting on racing and right now they don't have an easy in when it comes to racing.”

According to playnj.com, the takeout on the fixed-odds betting will be 12.5%, which is considerably lower than the typical takeout on pari-mutuel win wagers.

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Authentic Earns $1M BetMakers Bonus With Classic Win

With his victory in Saturday’s GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Authentic (Into Mischief) earned a $1-million bonus for his connections from Australian-based racing technology group BetMakers. In conjunction with Monmouth Park’s Dennis Drazin, BetMakers created the ‘BetMakers Bonanza’ for any horse that could win the 2020 renewals of the GI Haskell Invitational, the GI Kentucky Derby and then finish it off with the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Authentic went wire to wire to score in the 10-furlong test by 2 1/4 lengths.

“With all the winners of the majors competing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Authentic proving he is an absolute superstar was very exciting,” BetMakers CEO Todd Buckingham said. “Initiatives like the BetMakers Bonanza are a great way to get the best horses competing against each other and what a great way to finish off with a race like we had.”

BetMakers and Darby Development LLC, owner and operator of Monmouth Park, signed an agreement earlier in the year with the aim to facilitate fixed-odds betting on horse racing in the state of New Jersey, with legislation recently introduced to do so in the New Jersey state legislature.

The ‘BetMakers Bonanza’ will continue for at least the next two years but with a different pathway. This year’s COVID-19 adjusted racing schedule saw the middle leg being the Derby and with the expected return to a regular calendar next year, the Haskell and Breeders’ Cup Classic will again ‘book-end’ the Bonanza with the middle leg to be determined.

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