The major problem with these discussion is how the player, who funds the game, benefits from this kind of activity. An average 18-20% takeout on all bets was fine when the costs of processing these transactions was much more expensive that it is today. Basically an ADW should have good technology, great player support and become a marketing organization to support the differentiation in its services. TwinSpires, YouBet, XpressBet and others are not set up that way. They are using the technology that built their respective businesses 10 years ago, therefore they have higher maintenance costs which have shown in their competition and their public filings.
The horseman realize this to a degree, in as much as they want the takeout more fairly applied, thus forcing the ADW's to innovate to profitably process transactions, while securing a smaller fee. What the horsemen don't realize is that the player is rejecting the takeout by betting with rebates onshore or offshore, which effectively proves that the legacy model of older ADW's is inefficient.
TrackNet is the biggest enemy in the whole caper, in that they expect to secure all the track signals at legacy rates, thus to block the player and horseman from other options, while keeping legacy pricing intact. This is a losing philosophy because the truth is available for the better players to see in the form of lower cost operators.
What should happen, but won't, at least until after the ADW-Derby debacle happens (and I think it will, since it hurts TrackNet hardest), is that the industry should agree to open signals, lower takeout policies and a fairer distribution of the profit in the transaction not necessarily equally split amongst the content provider, horseman, and the wager originator (ADW, OTB, simulcast facility). The result needs to be pro-content provider, pro-horseman, pro-wager originatior, and most importantly pro-player. At that point ADW's should be able to adequately compete on services provided, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, pricing, leaving the opportunity for the player to choose the facility that caters best to their style of play.
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