Sky Racing World, an American-based subsidiary of Australia’s Tabcorp, declares the following:
“Our core mission is to position Australasian and South African racing as dynamic global horse racing markets and provide optimal betting opportunities to North American handicappers.”
One of the key ways in which this mission is achieved – free data!
Besides arranging betting on many American wagering platforms, Sky Racing World provides a plethora of free data designed to attract players to the international racing opportunities offered.
Free past performances are coupled with analysis and expert selections, all available at no cost, to registered users of the Sky Racing World website. Information is offered on races from Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore South Africa and South Korea, and even includes a downloadable XML file for Hong Kong racing (below) – a rare find in the industry’s public data space.
(Image from Sky Racing World website)
There is, undoubtedly, a cost to collecting, organizing, maintaining and offering this data, but the agreements to provide it are done with the hope of attracting American horseplayers to wager on these international races.
Free information is being used as an incentive to attract betting interest. Does any of this take away from Americans betting on American races? Possibly. Are Americans more likely to bet on these races with all of this free information or without it? Surely.
These international jurisdictions are using the right incentives to get Americans to bet on their races. Free data, to the customer, is used to attract play. It’s hardly a novel concept, but one which needs examination and reform in the North American market for North American horseplayers on North American races.