Without legal advance deposit wagering in the United States, horse racing would have suffered unimaginable consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic that was unleashed one year ago. As it was, many tracks were forced to close while racing officials, health departments and infectious disease experts across the country worked toward solutions to keeping a major industry going.
Almost without exception, on-track business evaporated and racing was dependent on leading ADW companies TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet and NYRA Bets to stay in business. Those companies, the “big four” among ADWs, handled nearly $6.5 billion through the Oregon Racing Commission wagering hub, about 60% of the $10.9 billion bet on U.S. races in 2020, according to Equibase.
Some caveats: NYRA Bets totals do not include wagers made by New York residents on in-state races. Also, the ADW totals include a relatively small percentage that is wagered on Standardbred and Quarter Horse racing and international races. The totals for TwinSpires and Xpressbet may include “white label” ADWs created by various racetracks that use the aforementioned companies' technology.
Another $160 million was wagered through the Oregon hub by six smaller ADW companies.
Also, keep in mind that a significant portion of wagering dollars (though the details are not available) is bet through a hub in North Dakota. Elite Turf Club, Lien Games Racing, WatchAndWager.com and several others are registered in North Dakota, which is not as transparent with wagering totals as is Oregon. Among those companies, Elite Turf Club is probably the largest, with a number of high volume customers employing computer assisted wagering programs.
The growth in wagering through the Oregon hub by the “big four” from 2019 to 2020 was 52%. From a percentage standpoint, NYRA Bets – the smallest of the four and the latest to launch its business in 2016 – had the biggest gain of 104%. From a dollars standpoint, TVG was the leader, gaining over $1.2 billion in wagers from 2019 to 2020.
Perhaps not surprisingly, those two companies are affiliated with television throughout the year: NYRA Bets through programming on Fox Sports and TVG with its long-established racing network.
TVG's growth was so dramatic in 2020 that it overtook TwinSpires as the largest volume ADW company using the Oregon hub, ending a long run at the top by TwinSpires. In 2019, TwinSpires handled over $640 million more than TVG.
From a percentage standpoint, TwinSpires showed the slowest growth of the “big four” during the pandemic, gaining 30%. Xpressbet gained 34% from 2019-'20 topping $1 billion for the second consecutive year.
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