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) Wednesday October 10, 2007 - 00:14 EST
Last month a blockbuster business deal was announced that has the potential to impact betting on horse races as much as a world-wide area of linked machines would impact betting on slots: Live simulcasting and legalization of co-mingled betting on races from the renowned 123-year-old Hong Kong Jockey Club.Thoroughbred horse racing is the number one spectator sport in the Hong Kong region. Betting handle on a typical day's races exceeds $100 million. When bets from American horse players are co-mingled in pools of that magnitude, which are unheard of at U.S. tracks except for the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup, it sets the stage for monster payoffs and value for serious handicappers.
The Chinese government had previously been very protective of the sport and banned foreign betting on its races, which are conducted twice a week at two tracks in Hong Kong from early September to early July. More>>
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) Lottery trots out 'horse' game
The Massachusetts State Lottery made a big bet on virtual horse racing yesterday, unveiling plans for 1,500 video racing terminals at a time when interest in live racing has waned.The Lottery will begin to install Daily Racing Game machines within the next few weeks at "family restaurants," bars and other venues, spokesman Dan Rosenfeld said.
Lottery officials are looking to a similar race game launched successfully in Maryland and betting on a big payoff, with projections of $160 million a year once the terminals are in place by spring, Rosenfeld said.
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) Tennis officials standing together in gambling probe
London - Tennis officials from across the sports' diverse spectrum on Friday announced a united front as they mount a campaign to wipe the spectre of match-fixing from the game. A meeting of a new "integrity" task force as the International Tennis Federation, the women's WTA Tour the men's ATP and the Grand Slam Committee resulted in a statement re-affirming a strong stand against the problem.
"(We) have full confidence in the integrity of our sport," read a statement from the closed-door session. "Today's meeting reaffirmed tennis's unified approach to protecting that integrity."
The panel effectively ruled out any blow-by-blow developments as the investigation into possible match-fixing carries on over a period of weeks if not months.
The ATP, assisted by British horse-racing authorities, launched its own investigation over the summer after online betting on a second-round July contest in Poland was halted due to a flood of seven million dollars to Martin Vassallo-Arguello, eventual winner over world number four Nikolay Davydenko. More>>