Supplier News
Uruguay – Bets now permitted on Uruguayan races in the United States
By Phil - 18 September 2015
Betting on local pools at the Uruguayan racetrack of Maroñas and the racetrack of Las Piedras is now under way in the United States via The Latin American Racing Channel (LARC).
It marks an important milestone for the Uruguayan horse racing industry as it seeks to expand its audience to the United States and it’s the first time that customers based in the United States are able to place their bets directly on the pari-mutuel pools from the Latin American racetracks.
President of Monarch Content Management Scott Daruty welcomed the news and said in a statement: “For many years the Latin American Racing Channel has been working for bettors who are in the United States so that they would be able to place their bets directly on the pari-mutuel pools from racetracks of South America. We are very pleased that US bettors can now place commingled wagers directly into the pools of these Uruguayan racetracks.”
Customers in the United States will be able to place wagers via Xpressbet a service which allows account holders to wager on horse racing through online, phone, and mobile devices.
The agreement also means that local tracks based in Uruguay will be able to increase their prize pools, which in turn will benefit the local horse racing industry. Uruguayan races are already transmitted live in Peru, Panama and Brazil.
Horacio Espósito, President of LARC also welcomed the move saying: “After a great deal of effort and dedication, Maroñas and Las Piedras are the first two racetracks in South America to have this betting system in the USA. This will favour the entire horse racing industry in the country and marks a before and after in the gambling business.”
The two racetracks are run by Codere which runs the Maroñas racetrack Hipódromo de Maroñas Hípica Rioplatense S.A (a joint venture between Codere and the Sociedad Argentina de Medios S.A) after it bid for and won the right to reopen the track after the track went bankrupt in 1997. Codere also operates Las Piedras Racetrack, following the granting of a new license for the ownership, use and operation for a period of 30 years. Las Piedras racetrack opened in 2012.
The Latin American Racing Channel works together with its partners for consolidation of horse racing simulcasting between the United States, Europe and Latin America. The company simulcasts commingling betting races from the US (through Monarch Content Management) and in the UK (via GBI Content) to the region.
