OTB revenues plummet

In the race for gambling dollars, Connecticut’s Off-Track Betting is fast becoming a long shot.
Revenues are off dramatically in the face of stiff competition from casinos and a sputtering economy that has left many people without enough income to put down the traditional bets on horse and dog races that are struggling themselves to stay afloat.
On a recent weekday afternoon at the Barlow Street betting parlor, only a handful of people milled around inside a tired-looking interior lined with television screens and vending machines....
The take at Connecticut state OTB parlors has plummeted from a high of $281 million in 2003 to $198 million last year, but the decline has been even more precipitous in Bristol and New Britain.
In Bristol, gamblers forked over a high of $10.5 million in 2001. By last year, they wagered just $5.1 million, less than half as much.
New Britain’s OTB office peaked in 2002 with $18.2 million in bets. That’s sunk to $11.8 million, a 35 percent drop.
But perhaps most noteworthy is that the pace of decline has grown steeper.
In the past two years, Bristol bettors forked over 38 percent fewer dollars.  Click here for the whole story.
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