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Pari-mutuel powered games combine horse racing and casino action

by Bob Duff

It’s horse racing. It’s a casino game. Actually, it’s both. And it’s all on the up and up, entirely legal, and regulated.

Pari-mutuel-powered games, also known as PPGs, combine two popular forms of gambling while providing a workaround for the suddenly out-of-favor sweepstakes casinos.

As unregulated entities, sweepstakes casinos ran afoul of state gambling regulators and ultimately, the state governments that oversee those regulators. Several states have moved, or are moving to ban sweepstakes casinos from operating.

One thing you have to give the people in the gambling industry is that they are an ingenious bunch. When one door closes, they find a way around the problem. And pari-mutuel powered games are proving to be the solution to the problem that sweepstakes casinos were causing.

All outcomes from PPGs are directly connected to the actual results of real-life horse racing events. Sites like LoneStar Bet, GiddyUp Casino, and Horseplay look just like an online casino and even operate like an online casino, but here’s the catch, they all operate under the auspices of licensed racing frameworks. Everything they offer for you to play is legal and regulated by the same regulators as online horse racing advance deposit wagering sites.

That’s why they are working where unregulated sweepstakes casinos were coming under increased scrutiny and, in some states, ultimately being put out of business.

PPGs are all above board. The operators of these sites answer to a regulator. They follow the rules that are in place.

WHAT ARE PARI-MUTUAL POWERED GAMES?

The platform at Horseplay looks like it’s a casino. There are slots, hold and wins, jackpots, and video poker games. So, what gives?

Well, nothing, until the outcome of an actual horse race gives these machines an outcome.

Normally, a random number generator determines the result of a slot machine spin. With PPGs, the spin of the slot is created by the results of a horse race that just happened. This is the loophole these sites are conveniently exploiting to offer sites with PPGs in states where online casino gambling hasn’t been legally approved. And it’s all legal and regulated.

Eighteen states currently permit PPGs. That list includes Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Instead of putting money into the machine, with PPGs, you buy tickets, similar to how you would place a bet on a horse race. And you aren’t competing against the house, as you would with an online casino. You are competing with other players who also purchased tickets. All of the tickets that are purchased go into the same pool of live, real-time horse races. Again, this is similar to how a pari-mutuel pool works at a racetrack.

Pari-mutuel-powered slots consist of the bettor paying for either four, 12, 28, or 60 plays of a slot game. The licensed off-track betting system then utilizes the consumer funds to algorithmically place pari-mutuel wagers on the next live, real-world horse race.

The results of the pari-mutuel wagers are then used to dynamically create a visual slot game for the consumer to view, which will display to them the winnings received from the pari-mutuel wagers submitted on the live real-world horse race.

PARI-MUTUEL POWERED LOTTERY GAMES

Another version built on the same principle is pari-mutuel-powered lottery-style games. Instead of playing slots, you are playing a game similar to Keno.

You start out by making a selection of five or six numbers. These numbers correspond to the results of five or six consecutive real-world horse races. Those funds are then used by the betting site’s licensed off-track betting system to place a pari-mutuel wager.

When the races in the pool are complete, the numbers of the five or six race winners (depending upon whether you played a Pick-5 or Pick-6) are displayed in the form of a fun and entertaining lottery ball format. This is done after the actual races involved in the betting play are all completed.

There are also pari-mutuel-powered Match 3 games. These consist of bettors paying for two, five, 10, or 20 plays of a Match 3 game. The licensed off-track betting system utilizes the betting funds in the pool and algorithmically places pari-mutuel wagers on the next live real-world horse race.

The results of the pari-mutuel wagers are then used to dynamically create a virtual Match 3 game for the consumer to view, which will display to them the winnings received from the pari-mutuel wagers submitted on the live real-world horse race.

In many states where you can’t legally play casino games, you can utilize PPGs.

Unlike fixed-odds betting on other sports, which is governed exclusively by state law, pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing is governed by both federal law and by applicable state law. Under federal law, the Interstate Horse Racing Act (IHRA) was enacted in 1978 to support the practice of being in one state and betting on a horse race running in another state. The new law permitted wagering communications to cross state lines to facilitate an individual in one state to bet on the outcome of a horse race in another state.

In 2000, with widespread racing industry support, the IHRA was amended to further clarify coverage of individual wagering through an online betting system located in another state.

PPGs are simply pari-mutuel wagers, with the outcomes presented in a different manner. These games are legal in every state where a licensed off-track betting system can accept traditional pari-mutuel wagers.

Since each PPG play is basically a bet on a horse race, racetracks are getting a piece of the takeout from every wager. Typically, that amounts to anywhere between 15-25 per cent, based on the agreement in place with the advance deposit wagering site handling the bets.