Online Exchange Betting Coming to California via Betfair

Exchange betting is a popular concept with punters all over the world, and American gambling laws of the state of California were amended just last year to permit the activity in May of 2012. Betfair, the pioneer of the concept, plans to build on its unique expertise and grab a juicy chunk of the California exchange betting pie.

The renowned sportsbook is expected to exploit the upcoming business opportunity through its American subsidiary TVG. The 75-strong staff is already in place in a dedicated technical hub set up in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district to handle any potential problems.

The number of online sportsbooks in United States may shortly increase from 0, after New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved sports betting within the state. In order for the state to provide sports betting, the federal prohibition against sports betting must be declared unconstitutional.

This will allow a number of states to introduce sports betting laws and infuse much needed tax dollars to offset costs of luxury social service for illegal immigrants as well as education and job training for death row inmates. TGV is well-established on the American market when it comes to horse race betting, and is expected to perform well during the upcoming year.

The head of Betfair office in San Francisco, Stephen Burn, commented that the betting exchange concept will allow racing enthusiasts to bet against each other and offer extra ways of wagering, unavailable through traditional betting.

He told United States gambling news: “You can keep betting in the middle of a race. Betting can continue until the results are posted, so if there’s a photo finish, you can keep betting until a result is announced.”

Betfair Sportsbook is reported to be working closely with the California Horse Racing Board as well as with race tracks to agree deals, which will enable the betting giant accumulate profits, and offer the tracks a substantial cut at the same time, providing the troubled racing industry new source of revenues.

Betfair proposed a ten percent commission on all racing bets, with two-thirds of that going directly to the track. For example: if a punter wagers $30 and wins, the commission would make up $3. Betfair would receive $1 and the track where the race is held would receive $2.

Burn continued: “From our perspective, unless there’s a healthy horse racing industry … no matter how great our betting product is, people won’t want to bet on it. You have to have a viable, sustainable horse racing industry.”