Since I filed and updated a story on DRF.com regarding which wagering sites will be compliant with good-news tax revisions that go into effect tomorrow, a number of wagering outlets have confirmed tonight that they too will be compliant, and some of them are big players in the industry.
If you have been following me or DRF’s account on Twitter, these updates will be redundant. But if not, here’s a short rundown on the most important updates:
O TVG was the latest to update their status, so we will start with them. The network announced at 8:40 p.m. Eastern that its system would be compliant with the new tax rules, so that means that the Big Three account-wagering companies are all on board tomorrow.
O Earlier, XpressBet, the account-wagering company owned by The Stronach Group, announced that it will be compliant as of tomorrow. XpressBet is also the back-end bet-processing agent for a number of account-wagering platforms, including DRFBets, and all of those partner sites are expected to be compliant tomorrow as well, according to XpressBet’s top official, Scott Daruty.
O The New York Racing Association and its NYRA Bets platform, which launched nationally this year, will be compliant as of tomorrow, the association said late Wednesday. This is especially good news to those local players who are targeting tomorrow’s $115K pick 6 carryover at Belmont, since a large payoff on a properly structured pick 6 wager was brutally diminished under the old, outdated tax interpretation.
O Both XpressBet and NYRA are clients of AmTote, the bet-processing company owned by The Stronach Group that has a large number of clients in the U.S., including Santa Anita, which opens its meet on Friday. While I do not yet have confirmation that AmTote has updated its system for all of its clients, the two confirmations from XpressBet and NYRA tonight hint that AmTote outlets may be on board tomorrow. Keep checking in to see where AmTote stands before you place a bet tomorrow unless you want a new reason to dump on the industry and/or guvmint.
As earlier reported, all of the sites that are clients of United Tote, the bet-processing company owned by Churchill Downs Inc., are expected to be compliant tomorrow. That includes Twinspires, CDI’s account-wagering company, and a smattering of other sites.
If you are playing tomorrow, do your homework, and not just on the card. There are a large number of outlets that will give horseplayers the tax treatment they have long deserved starting tomorrow, and it will be the very definition of bittersweet if you hit a large payoff and have to cut the IRS in on a share, on the very day that horseplayers were finally freed from onerous tax requirements. At the same time, there are a large number of outlets that are working feverishly to get up-to-date, so it’s possible more will be added to the list.
I will do my best to keep horseplayers updated until post time tomorrow. Good luck out there.