Catskill OTB asks governor for help
Days before it announced plans to stop accepting bets, the Catskill OTB requested an emergency meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul to craft a path forward for their financially challenged gambling operation.
The Catskill Off-Track Betting Corp., which was launched half a century ago, had shrunk to a shell of its former self in recent years, as it no longer operates any branches and only accepts horse racing bets online and through partner bars and restaurants. In a letter to the governor dated Nov. 12, the organization’s leader acknowledges the financial challenges of their model in 2024, but also blamed state regulators and a lack of statutory changes for their current situation.
“I am requesting an emergency meeting with you to discuss the history of the relationship with the [New York State Gaming Commission], the need for immediate action on all outstanding items that have been submitted to the Gaming Commission and serious consideration and action on putting together an action plan that supplements and supports a State Public Benefit Corporation that is in serious need of attention and assistance,” Catskill OTB President & CEO Wanda Williams wrote to Hochul.
A copy of the letter is available below.
In her letter, Williams refers to the need to offer “enhanced products.” Three of the other regional OTBs in New York get revenue from electronic slot machines and all of them would like to cash in on the interest in sports wagering.
A spokesman for the State Gaming Commission confirmed there have been ongoing discussions with the Catskill OTB, but said they not received anything “formal” about their plans to effectively cease operating as of early Tuesday afternoon. State regulations indicate that a business change of the magnitude the Catskill OTB is planning – effectively ending their only function – would first require a plan to be submitted to, and approved by, state gambling regulators.
In May of 2023, the Times Union reported that the Catskill OTB has been extended a lifeline in the state budget, which allowed them to use capital funds to cover operating costs. Earlier that year, Hochul proposed shuttering the operation.
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