off-track betting

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Off-track betting (or OTB) refers to sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track.

At legal off-track betting parlors, if bettors win, they have to pay the parlor a surcharge taken directly from the winnings. Bettors in New York can avoid paying the surcharges by placing their bets via an off-track betting corporation's account wagering service or at so-called super branches or teletheatres that charge a daily admission fee. Other jurisdictions such as Pennsylvania do not levy a surcharge on winnings. Most booked bets are now placed with licensed services in the Caribbean and Central America who entice bettors by offering them rebates on their bets.

OTB was founded and run by Davis Etkin but is state owned.

The former Greengate Mall in Greensburg, Pennsylvania was once home to the first off-track betting center in an enclosed shopping center in the United States.

See also

• Totalisator

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