NYRA pressing forward on NYC parlor opportunity

[Kasept]

NYRA to pursue OTBs in New York City
By Matt Hegarty

The New York Racing Association intends to pursue licenses to open offtrack betting parlors in New York City, according to written testimony submitted to a state senate committee by the association’s chief executive, Charles Hayward.
The testimony, which was submitted to the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee on Tuesday, includes the strongest statements yet on NYRA’s intentions to operate OTB parlors in New York’s five boroughs, a politically charged endeavor that needs approval from city and state officials.

In the testimony, Hayward contends that NYRA is best suited to operate the OTBs, and he argues against granting licenses in the city’s five boroughs to any of the five existing OTB companies in New York state, citing the dissolution last year of New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. and the bankruptcy filing this year of Suffolk OTB. “An analysis of NYCOTB, which is endemic of the other regional OTBs, demonstrates that the parlor distribution system, combined with excessive operational and legacy costs, resulted in its financial demise,” Hayward wrote.

Under a decades-old law, NYRA has the authority to operate up to eight OTBs in New York City, provided it receives approval from the city and state regulators. In his testimony, Hayward said that NYRA intends to establish OTB parlors in “selected bars and restaurants” in the city so that it can “successfully recoup much of the handle that was lost” when New York City OTB closed.