Through the first three months of its operations, Betfair’s New Jersey exchange wagering system has averaged has averaged about 0,000 a week in betting handle, according to figures released by the New Jersey Racing Commission.
However, when the exchange launched, the handle averaged about eight percent higher than that figure through seven weeks, but then began declining, according the Daily Racing Form.
Betfair officials said they were not surprised by the figures saying that the exchange system is till new to players used to pari-mutuel betting who are largely unfamiliar with the hedging strategies that are available through Betfair’s platform. Betfair officials also said that because the system is limited to players in New Jersey—whose bets can be matched by Betfair’s players in the UK—the average numbers can fluctuate dramatically week to week.
“We are very happy about the beta launch of exchange in the U.S.,” Kip Levin, the chief executive of Betfair U.S. told the Daily Racing Form. “It’s still very early, and given the small sample to date, we are very encouraged with the initial results.”
Exchange wagering, allows customers to post odds on horses and accept bets from other customers with additional opportunities to post and accept bets during the running of the race. The weekly average figure represents the amount of bets risked by players in New Jersey, even if those bets were matched with players in the U.K.
