Fixed Odds Horse Betting Coming to New Jersey?

As online horse racing websites wage battle for every last customer they can find, there is a subtle change taking place in the undercurrents of the horse racing industry in America. It's called ”fixed odds” wagering. While this may be a foreign concept in the eyes and minds of U.S. horseplayers, it's a form of wagering that has been taking place in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and yes England for decades.

Much like sports wagering, fixed odds betting on a horse race is a fairly simple concept. Retail and online bookmakers would be given the opportunity to make their own betting odds on horse races. When horseplayers decide to make a bet, they would do so and get the odds listed on their horse of choice at the time they make the wager. As money pours in on certain horses, bookmakers would simply adjust the odds across the board, hopefully prompting more horseplayers to wager on horses whose odds are going up.

Leading the way in this new form of horse wagering is the New Jersey state legislature. It is no coincidence that the state of New Jersey was the first state to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, demanding the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. This is the very lawsuit that got the ball rolling and the very reason more than half the states in America have legalized sports betting for its residents over the last three years.

With Senate bill 3090, the New Jersey legislature is seeking to permit fixed odds betting at race tracks throughout the state. This is an idea that has been long overdue and has the support of Monmouth Park chairman Dennis Drazin and Hawthorne Race Course assistant general manager John Walsh.

At issue is a horse racing industry that has been dying on a vine over the last 10 to 15 years. The failure of the sport to pull in newer and younger customers is front and center as industry officials look for an angle to jump-start the sport again. Many in the industry see fixed odds betting as the industry's savior.

One reason the sport has lost its appeal to younger Americans is their failure to grasp the current pari-mutuel wagering system that is being used throughout the country. Younger people aren't interested in betting on a horse at 6 to 1 10 minutes before post time only to watch their horse go off at even money when the gates open. Younger novice horseplayers are looking for what they perceive to be betting value and don't like watching their betting value dissipate as the horses near the starting gate.

When might this change start taking place? According to gambling industry lobbyist Bill Pascrell III, sooner rather than later. He told reporters from PlayUSA:

“We’re going to get this across the goal line in a month or two.”

If he is right, it will be interesting to see how quickly major horse racing states like California, Florida, and New York will react.