SIS terminates Greyhound simulcast business in US
Sports Information Services (SIS), the content giant in the horse racing industry, quietly withdrew its greyhound simulcast business from the US market late last year. The company provides thousands of races each year to U.S. operators at British circuits.
SIS is jointly owned by some of the biggest players in the UK betting industry, including William Hill, 888, Betfred and Entain, the latter of which is the largest shareholder with a 23% stake.
Through its joint venture with Arena Racing, Entain owns the media rights to nine of the 20 licensed greyhound tracks in the UK, as well as five independent tracks.
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The move puts another nail in the coffin of greyhound racing in the United States.The sport is banned in 42 states and live horse racing is now limited to just two venues: Wheeling Island Casino and Racetrack and Mardi Gras Casino and Resort, both in West Virginia.
Some pari-mutuel venues that have stopped offering live racing in recent years still hold simulcast betting licenses and rely on SIS's Greyhound broadcast service.
“This is a simple economic decision,” Michele Fischer, SIS vice president of content services, said via email Wednesday. "With more and more states in the United States banning betting on greyhound products, there are not enough pool operators available to sell content to produce profitable products. This is a very unfortunate situation."
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But not Grey2K USA Worldwide, an organization that wants to see greyhound racing end for good. The organization's executive director, Carey Thiel, expressed optimism about the news Wednesday.
One of the largest companies in the world that actually owns greyhound racing tracks has suspended all greyhound broadcasting in the United States. "That was huge," Teal said. “Remote gambling on greyhound racing is prohibited across the United States. We are sending a clear message that the U.S. market will not be used to support the cruelty of greyhound racing.”
Ficher said SIS remains committed to the U.S. market, just not for greyhound racing. The company recently launched esports products in New Jersey, Colorado and Kentucky and expects to expand to other states this quarter, pending regulatory approval.
The company plans to offer its horse racing portfolio as a fixed-odds product to Colorado sportsbooks in 2024, which is legal under the state's new sports betting law. SIS also sells pari-mutuel horse racing content from Australia and the Middle East to US operators.
The company continues to distribute greyhound racing from the UK, Ireland and Mexico to fixed-odds betting operators in permitted territories.
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Source: www.casino.org
