US Legal Online Betting Launched – November 6th, 2009
“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good,” goes the old saw, and that can certainly be applied to the use of US horseracing’s exemption from that country’s anti-online gambling laws. Thanks to the carve-outs for US horseracing created by US legislators, gambling online on the horses is rapidly becoming big business.
Players Network is a company that has seen the opportunities inherent in this strange situation and is exploiting it to the full. The digital television and Internet media network, normally dedicated to Las Vegas entertainment and the gambling lifestyle, has branched out into online gambling with the launch this week of its Players Network Racing, a legal, online live horse wagering site.
Players Network spokesmen said the company believes the site will produce large incremental revenues through real time betting. Players Network Racing is offering the latest in horse racing wagering systems developed by Pro Pick Racing, a Nevada corporation that provides a user-friendly horse race wagering platform, with live streaming video from 40 racetracks through North America and advice from professional handicappers that users can use to place informed bets.
“The Players Network media distribution and format are a perfect fit for our software which has been developed to expand racing into a new consumer market. Betting on horse racing is a complex and challenging pastime. Our system makes it easy for casual and novice players to enjoy wagering with a greater confidence in winning,” explained Tony Fontaine, President of Pro Pick Racing.
Recently, Players Network has been making strong moves into the horse racing sector, with branded entertainment videos for the Breeders Cup and the development of a branded simulation game with Horse Racing Simulation, LLC. “Players Network believes that horse racing can become the new poker, as it the only remaining online betting option for U.S. residents since changes in legislation limited online poker, and one that only a handful of companies can legally offer,” a spokesman said.
Players Network’s gaming services are provided by U.S. Off-Track, LLC, a Delaware company with a multi-jurisdictional simulcasting and interactive wagering totalizator hub licence with the State of Oregon. The network has considerable cross-marketing and promotional potential resident in its other interests.
It produces and distributes original content for its own VOD Channels on television in over 22 000 000 homes over Comcast, DirecTV, AT&T, Verizon and Dish Network and its own Broadband Network, Hulu, Blinkx, Google, YouTube and Yahoo Video, for DVD Home Video, mobile platforms, and through television syndication.
