Lynch

Ainsley Walters, Freelance Writer

PUNTERS will have to wait a while longer before benefiting from Caymanas Track Limited's (CTL) move to increase payouts on win and place bets from 70 to 75 per cent.

The horseracing promoting company had announced April 1 as the start-up date for its latest initiative to boost sales by reducing the take from its win and place pools from 30 to 25 per cent on both overseas and local betting.

However, the initiative has been delayed pending approval from the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC).

Positive impact expected

Walford Brown, CTL's chief executive officer and executive marketing manager, Millicent Lynch, confirmed the delay last Thursday, but said every effort is being made to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and the public will be advised of the new date for punters to benefit from the initiative.

The company is hoping the decision to increase percentage payout will have a positive impact on sales at Caymanas Park and its Off-Track Betting Parlours (OTB).

For every dollar wagered at CTL and its OTBs, CTL now returns 70 per cent as dividend to its customers with the remaining 30 per cent used to pay a 5.5 per cent commission to OTB operators as well as taxes, purses and operating expenses at Caymanas Park, the island's lone race track.

The company is confident that punters, with extra cash in their pockets from winning bets, will be encouraged to bet more when the initiative is implemented.

With more money in circulation, CTL, regardlessof reducing its take, would have a bigger pool from which to earn 25 per cent as opposed to a smaller pool and a 30 per cent takeout.