OTB adds Catskill to marketing deal
Add the Catskill District Off Track Betting Corp. to the recently formed coalition of Upstate OTBs that will be operating under a joint agreement to assist in marketing and operational expenses.
The agreement has already brought the Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp. and its counterparts in Suffolk County and the Capital District together under the pact.
The Catskill OTB has 25 locations in 10 Hudson Valley and Southern Tier counties including Chemung, Broome, Sullivan and Ulster counties. The deal now puts 174 upstate OTB branches and satellite locations under the domain of the joint agreement.
With Catskill OTB joining ranks with its three fellow off track betting groups, only the Nassau County and the financially-beleagured New York City OTB have yet to take part in the agreement. Talks remain underway with both groups.
“These are difficult times and we have to look at all options,” said Donald Groth, Catskill District OTB president and chief executive officer. “We, the OTBs, have to take the bull by the horns unsecured personal loans.”
The OTBs are facing increased competition from casinos and the continued impact of the weakened national economy.
“We all need to find ways to reign in expenses and stay ahead of the curve,” Martin Basinait, Western Regional OTB president and chief executive officer and the designated administrator for the joint agreement, said earlier this week.
Among the potentially cost-saving measures includes the three OTBs running one, central Web site, operating a single, statewide racing television station as well as an Internet TV station, creating a statewide marketing campaign and running an upstate and downstate phone center.
While many of the areas covered by the new agreement are behind-the-scenes measures, the most visible aspect — the statewide marketing campaign — will start within the next two months, beginning with a radio campaign in the Capital district.