Australian-listed TopBetta Holdings Limited has announced that it subsidiaries TopBetta Pty Ltd and The Global Tote Ltd have been granted licenses to operate in the United States.
Wholly-owned subsidiary The Global Tote has been granted approval to operate an international tote in the US, allowing US-licensed wagering operators to access global pools provided by The Global Tote.
TopBetta has been granted an Advance-Deposit Wagering licence (ADW) by the North Dakota Racing Commission, allowing it to offer pari-mutuel betting to the US public within the 35 US states to which the ADW applies and which currently allow online wagering. The company will also seek individual approvals from those states not covered by the ADW in the future.
Both licences are conditional upon the US Thoroughbred Racing successfully completing further due diligence examinations of TopBetta Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries over the next 12 months.
The company said it doesn’t anticipate any complications arising from the investigations and will look to commence US operations during the last half of 2017.
“This really completes the immediate regulatory requirements for The Global Tote and gives the company the reach to leverage the business as a true global player in online wagering,” said TopBetta CEO Todd Buckingham.
“The US market is exciting for both our wholesale and retail divisions, especially as we see it as under-developed and with huge potential. The wholesale Global Tote will work with existing ADWs in the US market as well as any major global wagering organisations trying to enter the US market ahead of any regulatory changes that would allow sports betting.
“Given the fact that the only online wagering currently allowed in the US is betting on racing through pari-mutuel wagering, The Global Tote is positioned perfectly to assist with those operators wanting to stay ahead of the market.
“The Global Tote is also now well positioned to be able to assist with racing bodies globally looking to get access to the US pool of customers. The off-course online wagering market (ADW) is growing rapidly and now accounts for more than 25% of all wagers on US racing.
“Our retail license (ADW) will allow TopBetta to enter the US market, getting access to both high-end punters and recreational punters.
“Competition in the ADW space is presently limited, however we see this changing over the next few years as global wagering operators look at avenues to enter the US prior to any changes with sports betting regulation.”
