Geoff Zochodne of Covers had an interesting story last Friday about how NASCAR is making the push to allow betting via the pari-mutuel system and has partnered with the Stronach Group’s 1/ST TECHNOLOGY horse racing wagering platform to make it happen.

Pari-mutuel wagering is the system where bettors compete against each other to wager on horses rather than against the house (which takes a cut to offer the product).

Horse racing, which supports nearly 24,000 full-time equivalent jobs in Ontario alone, and where there are 15 racetracks, has struggled to grow handle partly because pari-mutuel wagering is unfashionable with younger bettors due to fluctuating odds. Sports bettors used to wagering via fixed odds sometimes have trouble grasping why when they bet a horse, for example, at 3-1, the final odds can end up being far less attractive. Trying to develop fixed-odds betting on horses has long been a goal.

So, to hear NASCAR is embracing the pari-mutuel system could end up being good news for horse racing.

As Zochodne wrote: “The hope is that applying the pari-mutuel model of betting to stock car racing will mean more wagering opportunities, more interest in races, and less risk for sportsbook operators that may be shying away from offering markets to bettors.”

By growing familiarity with the pari-mutuel system, perhaps it will condition more bettors to give horse racing a try. After all, it is the original gambling sport and offers a lot more variety and unpredictability than NASCAR, which is, generally, good for handle.

Of course, all this NASCAR talk is in the U.S. for now.

When Canada ushered in single-event sports betting in 2021, Toronto’s Woodbine Entertainment Group fought and won the right to exclude sportsbook operators from offering fixed odds betting on horse racing. The reason was to protect a sport that supports a huge number of jobs, mostly in rural areas. Since the tracks make their money from their takeout rate, the smaller margins of fixed odds would not be enough to support the large purses needed by horse racing participants to pay the high costs of acquiring, feeding and training racehorses.

Woodbine offers its own nationwide pari-mutuel platform, HorsePlayer Interactive, and has partnered with bet365 to offer horse racing through Woodbine pari-mutuel tote system. But, so far, bet365 is the only outside operator offering betting on horses in Canada. That means horse racing is virtually nonexistent in the long menu of sports offered by sportsbooks. The lack of exposure on those platforms could be hurting. But if pari-mutuel betting on NASCAR comes to Canada and raises the profile of the system, horse racing could stand to benefit in the long run from familiarity and adoption.

Atlantic Lottery switched on GBG identity data verification for Casino players in Canada, their pass rate improved from 68% to 82%, which resulted in over 10,000 extra players in a year. Read the latest GBG case study to learn more.

The new monthly revenue reporting by iGaming Ontario (iGO) reveals January was a record for online gambling revenue for both sports betting ($92 million) and online casinos ($230 million). Online poker revenue was $5.6 million, tied for the fifth best revenue month since Ontario’s online market opened in April, 2022.

Total gross gaming revenue was $328 million in January. It was the first time total revenue has exceeded $300 million in a single month. The previous record was $291 million in November 2024.

Registration is now open for the May 13-15 SBC Summit Americas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Register here using the code PARLEHPARTNERVIP and get 50% off your full-event pass.

In episode 150 of the Gaming News Canada Show, presented by GBG Plc., host Steve McAllister took a deep dive into the 4 Nations Face-Off won by Canada. McAllister started by speaking to Rob Corte, the Vice-President of Sportsnet and NHL Production at Rogers. Then, McAllister turned the microphone to both DraftKings’ long-time Head of Sportsbook, Johnny Avello, and John Ewing, Media Insights for BetMGM to get the details on the gambling around the wildly-popular mid-season hockey tournament.

You can listen to the podcast here via your favourite podcasting app or watch it here:

We’re remiss for not mentioning this in Wednesday’s newsletter, but Kambi announced recently in a press release that it will be taking over from France’s La Française des Jeux (FDJ) as the back-end provider of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) PROLINE+ sports betting platform.

The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. FDJ’s contract with the OLG currently extends until 2032.

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