BetMakers and bet365 have teamed up to launch fixed-odds horse racing in New Jersey and Colorado.
Through a new two-year market access and content deal, BetMakers has licensed bet365 to offer its fixed-odds wagering on thoroughbred racing content to bet365 customers in New Jersey, as well as thoroughbred horse racing content. In Colorado, bet365 will provide thoroughbred and harness racing betting.
The companies say bet365 will pay BetMakers a market access fee in New Jersey that will be based on a percentage of all fixed-odds bets placedon thoroughbred racing events. The sportsbook will also pay a content fee in both states that will be calculated as a percentage of all fixed-odds bets placed on applicable BetMakers Global Racing Network content.
The deal also allows for bet365 to seek BetMakers’ approval to offer fixed-odds wagering on third-party global thoroughbred racing content in New Jersey from various rights holders. The market access fee will be paid regardless of whether the related thoroughbred racing content is provided by BetMakers or a third party.
“This is a significant milestone for BetMakers and aligns with our strategy for fixed odds betting on thoroughbreds in the U.S.,” said BetMakers CEO Jake Henson. “The sports betting market in the U.S. is starting to mature and the interest from operators in horse racing as a product is expected to become even stronger. The high frequency of horse racing can deliver high engagement and high-margin returns to operators. We believe the opportunity for both BetMakers and the racing industry more broadly to be significant in the long term.”
The contract makes bet365 the first major operator to enter New Jersey’s fixed-odds horse racing market. Henson also floated the idea of striking similar deals with other operators in the future.
“We are always actively working with rights holders to deliver opportunities for sustainable industry returns and open new opportunities in expanding growth markets. This opportunity in the U.S. ticks both of those boxes and we look forward to helping our partners build out a global facebook.”
Both companies set the pace in horse racing betting
Bet365 had galloped into Colorado’s racing market in February through a deal with SIS Content Services that marked the sportsbook’s first steps in what was the first time fixed-odds horse racing wagering had been offered on a licensed sports betting platform in the U.S.
It followed that up a month later by partnering with gaming solutions provider 1/ST TECHNOLOGY and its 1/ST BET product, the official betting platform of racing venues and events including the Preakness Stakes, Santa Anita Park and many more.
Meanwhile, BetMakers has been striking deals of its own.
Last November, it signed a new 10-year agreement with Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment to continue bringing pari-mutuel betting technology to Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey.
And in March, a link-up with Gaming Innovation Group allowed BetMakers to begin offering its racebook services on GiG’s sportsbook platform SportX.
The brand also supplies retail betting at MonmouthPark and powers the online fixed odds betting system for MonmouthBets, the first legal and regulated mobile application for fixed odds betting on horse racing in the U.S. It also has an exclusive licensing agreement with Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
