BetMGM to Offer Mobile Wagering on Horse Racing Through NYRA Bets Partnership

Posted on: May 29, 2021, 11:58h. 

Last updated on: May 30, 2021, 02:40h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

BetMGM and NYRA Bets LLC announced on Friday that the advanced deposit wagering platform for the New York Racing Association (NYRA) would become the first horse racing partner for the online gaming company.

NYRA Bets BetMGM
Sainthood races to victory in the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park Saturday. On Friday, BetMGM and NYRA Bets announced an agreement where BetMGM will use the NYRA platform to offer betting on horse races to its customers. (Image: Janet Garaguso/NYRA)

The deal allows BetMGM to use NYRA Bets’ wagering platform for its BetMGM horse racing app. That service will be available online and for Android and Apple devices.

BetMGM bettors will have access to thoroughbred, harness, and quarter horse races run at more than 200 tracks around the world.

This is the type of partnership that reflects the importance of horse racing within the rapidly evolving sports betting marketplace,” Tony Allevato, president of NYRA Bets, said in a statement.

The BetMGM-NYRA arrangement is the first partnership of its kind in that it brings two separate entities together. TVG and FanDuel have a similar arrangement, but both are Flutter Entertainment properties.

Earlier this year, Churchill Downs rebranded its Bet America sportsbook under its TwinSpires ADW flag. The gaming company now offers all of its online products at TwinSpires.com.

Big Names in Respective Gaming Fields

The move brings together two of the bigger names in sports betting and horse racing. NYRA Bets is the fourth-largest ADW platform in horse racing, while BetMGM operates at least one gaming product – sports betting, online casino, or online poker – in 10 states.

According to the Oregon Racing Commission, NYRA Bets reported a handle of $225 million in 2020. The top three – TVG ($2.46 billion), TwinSpires ($2.45 billion), and Xpressbet ($1.35 billion) – all had substantially higher traffic. But NYRA’s platform has grown rapidly since its launch in 2016. The 2020 handle marked a 103 percent increase from 2019’s $110.5 million total.

BetMGM, meanwhile, is the top iGaming, or online casino, platform in the US, and ranks among the top three nationally across all online gaming platforms, with an estimated market share of 22 percent.

NYRA Bets-BetMGM Deal Just About Racing

The BetMGM-NYRA Bets announcement comes at a time when there’s a lot of action in sports betting, horse racing, and New York gaming. That includes the possibility of fixed-odds wagering on horse racing happening in the near future in New Jersey, as well as the much-anticipated release of the mobile sports betting solicitation in New York. The latter is scheduled to take place by July 1.

However, while the partners were excited to share the news, their comments to Casino.org made it clear it’s just about pari-mutuel betting on horse racing.

“The partnership announced today deals strictly with advance deposit wagering into pari-mutuel pools for BetMGM customers outside of New York State, and does not provide for fixed-odds wagering in New Jersey or in any other market,” Patrick McKenna, senior director of communications for NYRA said.

Elisa Richardson, BetMGM’s head of public relations and communications, added the BetMGM app will also feature its own deposit methods and customer service.

“We hope to bring the offering to as many states as possible and will share more details closer to launch time,” Richardson said.