Empire City Bets

[Vigorish]

Greetings,

I just wanted to alert horseplayers to the rebates offered at Empire City Bets. Unfortunately, New York players ability to acquire 'good rebates' has been undermined by the new protectionist legislation (i.e. 5% source market fee).

I have reviewed several ADW's operating out of New York including Capital OTB, NYRA (only for people in New York or Connecticut if I'm not mistaken), and Finger Bonus Lake Bets.

They have three separate rebate categories: 1%, 3%, and 5%. They will give you 8% on Yonkers Raceway. All wagers are accepted EXCEPT place and show. What amazed me was the number of tracks in the 5% range. One of the most stunning findings was a 5% rebate for Keeneland. Thus, you are getting 11% on win bets and 14% on all exotics. I double-checked this with their representative. The customer service was very polite and prompt (no waiting time). They said they are getting a lot of new sign-ups.

The beauty, from my perspective, is that EVERYBODY gets the same rebate. This means the small player who is starting out is not handicapped against the whale; everybody pays the same effective takeout rate. Depending on what tracks you play, this site might be competitive for players in mid-to-high brackets. I just found a good sign-up promotion that lasts until the end of the year: 100% deposit match up to $150. It appears you are only required to wager $150 within the first 7 days of funding your account.

[ubercapper]

I don't see Santa Anita on their upcoming schedule. Any idea why?

[Vigorish]

I don't see Santa Anita on their upcoming schedule. Any idea why?

I saw it on the schedule. If you click on 'weekly schedule,' you will see it listed as starting on Dec 26th at 3pm. The rebate for SA is in the lowest bracket, at 1% for all bets except place and show. I guess it's not that bad, especially for SA's new doubles (18%) and win bets (which are already 15.43%). Furthermore, there is nothing I see listed about an exemption for the 14% pick 5.

[ubercapper]

I guess I was looking past the 26th. There's no Santa Anita on the 27th, 28th or 29th listed, unless I'm missing something.

[Vigorish]

I guess I was looking past the 26th. There's no Santa Anita on the 27th, 28th or 29th listed, unless I'm missing something.

I just reviewed their schedule and Santa Anita is listed for all of those days. Perhaps you were looking at the different part of the site?

Check out this link: https://www.empirecitybets.com/schedule

[Vigorish]

Some businesses can absorb the 5% source market fee, license fee, and regulatory requirements. Unfortunately, the costs are invariably passed on to the consumers. I suspect a domino effect will transpire whereby the rest of the states follow suite, implementing new source market fees, higher signal fees, and access restrictions. The end result will be much lower handle, that more than offsets their enhanced profit margins.

One possible way of mitigating some of the damage would be to open up multiple ADW's (the ones available to NY residents) and shop based on price. However, that can be a dicey proposition as many sites reward you based on average handle. On a positive note, at least the New York situation isn't as bad as Pennsylvania.