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Just received this in the mail

rosenowsr
8/24/2012
3:17:37 PM

Important Update for Illinois Players

We are writing to make you aware of an upcoming modification to the online wagering (ADW) law in Illinois. Effective August 26th, 2012, all licensed ADWs in Illinois including TwinSpires.com, must impose a .18% (.0018) surcharge on winning wagers and winnings from wagers. The fees collected from this surcharge will be paid to standardbred (harness) purse accounts in Illinois. Also, you may be aware that Off Track Betting locations (OTBs) in Illinois are required to impose a 2.5% surcharge on winning wagers and winnings from wagers.

Please note the results information on the simulcast feeds from our partner racetracks and the results displays of the TwinSpires.com web site will not reflect the deduction for the surcharge. You will be able to see your winnings in the "recall today's bets" section as well as in your "detailed account history" report.

Example of surcharge:
$100 win wager on a horse that pays $10 would return a total of $500. The surcharge would be 90 cents and the wager would return $499.10 to your TwinSpires.com account.

While TwinSpires.com will continue to offer it's "no fees" approach to online wagering, we are required to comply with this new regulation. We value your support of TwinSpires.com and will continue to build on the many free services we currently provide including; wagering services, live video, race replays, Brisnet Ultimate PPs and Super Stats, EZMoney deposits and withdrawals and TSC Elite Rewards.

If you have any questions about the surcharge, please contact player.services@twinspires.com.

Sincerely.
TwinSpires.com Team

jeff
8/25/2012
5:39:15 PM

I very much would like to make a post telling you that it was the Illinois Horsemen who are responsible for this.

But that isn’t the whole truth.

The whole truth is that horseplayers everywhere are responsible for this – because we are the ones who keep enabling it.

It has become crystal clear that horsemen have been (silently and behind the scenes) waging a war against the horseplayer for some time now.

Horsemen are organized and well funded. They have been able to hire lobbyists who in turn have been able to exert quite a bit of political influence on horsemen’s behalf at the state government level.

Their preferred method of attack against the horseplayer goes something like this:

Hire lobbyists and “sick-em” on the staff consultants and the men and women elected to public office at the State House of Representatives and the State Senate, as well as at the Governor’s Office and press for a change in state law. Find a State Assemblyman or a State Senator willing to sponsor a bill written by the horsemen to “save” racing.

Language is written into a new bill that calls for money to be removed from the wallets of horseplayers and handed over to horsemen. The bill goes into committee where staff consultants working for elected Assemblymen and State Senators “analyze” it. A “statistical analysis” that has been prepared by the horsemen or better yet one that has been prepared by horsemen and “rubber stamped” by the state Racing Commission accompanies the bill.

Of course, in every case, these statistical analysis reports are flawed because they completely ignore the fact that racing handle is price sensitive. Whenever the cost of making a bet goes up (source market fee) or the payout returned for making a winning bet is lowered (a takeout increase) – handle numbers respond by going down.

From there, lobbyists present the horsemen’s side of things to members of the Legislature (over lunch and cocktails.) In essence, the Legislature and Governor’s Office is told “Racing is in dire financial straights. We need you to pass this bill to save racing.”

With support from the racing industry (the horsemen) and with little or no opposition from the public (the bettors) - the bill comes out of committee - gets voted on and passed - and is signed into law by the Governor.

As evidence, I give you Exhibit A:

In Virginia, it was a 10% ADW source market fee. In Washington, it was a 7% ADW source market fee. In California, it was a 6.5% ADW source market fee. As if that weren’t enough, California’s horsemen went back and asked the Legislature for more. SB1072 which became state law on Jan 01, 2011 increased the takeout on exotics wagers for the live racing product by 9.7% for two horse bets and 14.5% for three horse bets respectively. In Wyoming, it was a 5% ADW source market fee. In Oregon, it was a 5% ADW source market fee. Kentucky is currently considering an “ADW registration fee.” In Texas, ADW wagering was outlawed. In Arizona, betting on a horse race from “outside the racing enclosure” was made a Class 6 Felony.

The question isn’t “How many states are going to enact similar legislation?”

The answer (if we as horseplayers sit idly by and allow it to happen) is: “ALL of them.”

The only way we as horseplayers prevent this from happening in other states, and get it reversed in the states where it has already happened, is to stand up for ourselves and fight back.

That means becoming organized (through HANA or some other horseplayer’s organization.) That means growing the organization virally. I’m talking about volunteer soldiers on the ground signing up new horseplayer members, raising significant money, writing letters (by the thousands) to elected representatives, hiring our own lobbyists – and seeing to it that State Legislatures are made aware of OUR side of things.

Until or unless we are willing to do that – expect the horsemen to keep waging war on us – and expect them to keep winning that war.

The real question is: Are we as horseplayers EVER going to get serious about fighting back?

Jeff Platt
President, HANA

HANA Sign Up Link:
http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001G9ha2onFF_onHEAWs0BPI1-uiAWlgaP-6XGVjf_DXKEknOFY77c12S2Atarn0LoakNkFlnPaJ_BY982ktSSBooHZlKL7-MLc

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busseb
8/26/2012
10:51:53 AM

Will BetFair's entry into the US market
put downward pressure on takeout?

Are non-US track takeouts any lower?

Will non-US pp's be available soon?

El Paso

jeff
8/26/2012
1:12:08 PM

Q. Will BetFair's entry into the US market
put downward pressure on takeout?

A. Hard for me to say. In order for that to happen, exchange wagering first has to be allowed to get off the ground.

Provided it is allowed to get off the ground - and that's in the IF stage right now - it has to be offered at reasonable rates so that it catches on. If horsemen get their way and it is offered at rates in the US that are higher than exchange wagering rates in the rest of the world - it won't catch on in any meaningful way.

Keep in mind that there is plenty of downward pressure for takeout rates right now.

The segment of handle over the past 10-12 years that has grown the most is rebated handle. The reason that segment of handle has grown is that current takeout rates are significantly higher than optimal rates suggested by the market.

Q. Are non-US track takeouts any lower?

A. NO! You might not be aware of this but when you as a resident of the US or Canada bet Aussie, Euro, and South American races through the North American tote system your money isn't going into the pools where those races are being run. Your money is going into a separate North American pool where you are facing takeout rates that are actually higher than if the race had been run at a North American track that you are familiar with such as Saratoga, Keeneland, Monmouth, or Gulfstream, etc. (Of course those high takeout rates are alleviated if you are being rebated.)

Q. Will non-US pp's be available soon?

A. Through HDW? Probably not. At least not unless demand for past performance data for those foreign races takes off. (I contend that takeout rates have something to do with that.)

-jp

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JCapper 101 -- Just received this in the mail

JCapper 101
-- Just received this in the mail