The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has inked a deal with mobile gaming specialists Sona. Under the agreement, Sona Mobile Holdings will supply a Web-based wagering platform by the start of Q2 this year.
This will allow bettors to place wagers remotely on events at the NYRA’s tracks, namely Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course via the internet. The deal leaves room for further development to include wagering by handheld wireless devices such as Blackberrys and cell phones.
NYRA President Charles Hayward said “By providing NYRA customers with online wagering capabilities and real-time access to our content, NYRA will not only generate incremental revenues but also boost its brand recognition.”
Sona’s product list includes a mobile casino offering that allows land based casinos to extend there table games to patrons outside of the gaming floor. In this way, these casinos can still hope to “monetize” their guests even when they are at the hotel pool or in their room.
It is important to note that Sona is not supplying an off the shelf solution to the NYRA but indeed undertaking a bespoke development on their behalf. Sona has received 50% of the development funds for the web-based wagering project from the NYRA already and will recoup the remainder after the NYRA signs off on approval of the wagering platform.
