Clippity Clop. Here comes GMST's prodigal offspring.
Thanks to Thoroughbred Times
TVG handle increases more than 250% in 2002
Buoyed by the advent of advanced deposit account wagering in California, Television Games Network closed the books on 2002 with a 250.2% increase in total handle through its interactive wagering hub in Oregon and with more than three times as many subscribers as in 2001.
The network handled $159-million in total wagers last year compared with $45.4-million in 2001. It also reported 44,000 wagering subscribers, a 219% increase from approximately 13,700 the year before.
Fourth-quarter handle figures jumped 233.5% from the corresponding period in 2001 when $46,116,900 was wagered compared with $13,828,933. TVG posted a 6.4% dip in handle for the fourth quarter [when racing for the year begins to taper off] compared to the $49,274,003 bet during the third quarter.
TVG and its licensee, Youbet.com, processed 81% of the $152,062,376 bet by California residents via advanced deposit wagering last year, according to a press release from TVG.
From its source-market fees, TVG generated $22-million for purse money for its track partners.
The network could be getting some competition from Philadelphia Park’s international The Racing Channel and its Oneclickbetting.com service, which also operates a hub in Oregon. Oneclickbetting.com’s handle increased 26.4%, rising from $33,972,955 in the third quarter to $42,944.450 in the fourth quarter.
Oneclickbetting.com accepts wagers from Europe on American races and then commingles the bets into the United States pools, using the Oregon hub. Bill Hogwood, director of the service, said that the majority of Oneclickbetting.com’s business comes from British wagering and noted other handle sources in Austria and Germany.
Other account wagering operations sending their business through the Oregon hub also enjoyed increases in business in the fourth quarter. America Tab’s handle through the hub rose 5.5% to $16,486,791, and Greyhound Channel’s U.S. Offtrack service’s handle increased 6.1% to $3,171,362.
Youbet.com has not reported handle figures for the fourth quarter.
(FYI, TVG owns about 20 per cent of UBET, and I would estimate its handle is up sharply as well. In any event, there's not enough net to make a difference in GMST's price; small potatoes.) |
