MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 LAWSON: SPORTS BETTING WOODBINE CANCELS FINAL THREE WEEKS OF MEET DUE TO ONTARIO CORONAVIRUS BILL COULD DEVASTATE RESTRICTIONS, STOPS SUNDAY=S CARD DUE CANADIAN RACING TO INCLEMENT WEATHER As a result of the Government of Ontario=s announcement Friday that Toronto will be entering the Province=s grey >Lockdown= phase of coronavirus-related restrictions, Woodbine Entertainment announced that Sunday will be the last day in 2020 of Thoroughbred racing in the Province. AWe have been, and continue to be, extremely supportive of the Government=s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Province and appreciate the many difficult decisions they have to make,@ said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. Cont. p4 IN TDN EUROPE TODAY TATTERSALLS DECEMBER SALE BEGINS Jim Lawson | Michael Burns MONDAY by Bill Finley The Tattersalls December Sale begins with the yearling session on Monday. Emma Berry has the preview. Click or tap A bill that would legalize single-event sports wagering in here to go straight to TDN Europe. Canada and is now being debated by members of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons would have a disastrous impact on racing, warns Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson. The bill does not allow for the racetracks to be part of the sports betting universe and, perhaps even more worrisome, it would allow non-racing betting sites to take fixed-odds bets on racing without having to share any of the revenue with the industry. "This is a real threat to the industry and certainly the Canadian government cannot ignore horse racing in terms of this legislation or they risk, ultimately, putting the horse racing industry under," Lawson said. Lawson said that under normal circumstances he wouldn't expect that the bill, as it is currently written, would go very far. But he fears that the Canadian government is so desperate for money to deal with the numerous expenses that have come about with the pandemic that lawmakers might jump at the opportunity to legalize sports betting and the quick fix it represents. "This bill has gained momentum," he said. "The economic realities that COVID has created in terms of health and education costs means it will take years to catch up." 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He wants Woodbine to be among the members of the four largest parties in the House of Commons-- companies that get a cut of the sports betting pie, which, he Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Quebecois, and New Democratic-- reasons, will be so large that it will cannibalize betting on racing. and a member from each spoke in support. He also sees sports betting as a way to end the need for the With more and more U.S. states legalizing sports betting in the subsidies the government is now paying to support racing. In U.S. and with governments everywhere needing revenue, it is no Ontario, the government hands out about $100 million a year to surprise that efforts have begun to legalize sports betting in support the sport. Canada. But what sets this bill apart from ones in the U.S. that have made sports betting legal is that it lumps fixed-odds bets on racing in with sports betting. The same firms that are given the green light to take sports bets can also offer fixed-odds sports bets and would not be required to turn over any of the money to the sport. "We are the producers of the content and we are paying the operating costs of running the races and paying the purses," Lawson said. "We should be the beneficiaries of fixed-odds betting on horse racing. That's just common sense. You can't allow someone else to encroach upon our only revenue source. You can't take away that revenue source by allowing fixed-odds wagering on a product we are producing and pay to produce." While allowing outside firms to profit off of Canadian races is bad enough, Lawson said that it would be particularly Racing at Woodbine | Michael Burns troublesome for Woodbine to be left out when it comes to fixed-odds betting, which he believes will be successful. "The Ontario government is subsidizing horse racing through a "Look at Australia, where fixed-odds wagering now accounts funding agreement," he said. "If you want to do the smart thing for 60% of the wagering on horse racing," he said. "What if that and totally eliminate any subsidy that we get, let us make up for phenomenon were to repeat itself here and we lost 60% of our the money through sports betting. We are not looking for a wagering? It would put us out of business if we didn't either monopoly. We know there are casinos and others that will be control or participate in fixed-odds wagering on horse racing. able to take sports bets, we just want to be cut in. We deserve it "Young bettors, for the most part, don't like pari-mutuel because of our skill set and our technology. You'd be partnering wagering. They find it complicated. They are used to fixed-odds with a company that is well positioned to conduct sports betting on football. They're tough to convert to pari-mutuel wagering." Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 8 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • NOVEMBER 23, 2020 Lawson said the solution is for the government to go back to Woodbine Cancels Meet, Then Card cont. from p1 the drawing board and come up with a bill that includes racing's AWe have approached the Government to explain the impacts needs. this decision will have on our business and the horse racing "We've got a pretty valid argument as to why this legislation industry in Ontario,@ Lawson continued. AWith a better needs to just pause and then do it in such a way that it protects understanding of our operations and based on our safety record the horse racing industry and in so doing allows a company like in operating live racing at our racetracks, we hope that the Woodbine to be a participant," he said. "Not only would that Government will consider these impacts in the future and assist support horse racing, it would support all the jobs across the us in managing the potentially devastating impact to country." horsepeople and animal welfare this early shutdown will cause.@ Lawson does not think the bill will be voted on until some time The cancelled race cards (12) at Woodbine Racetrack early in 2021. That gives Woodbine and other industry leaders a represented a significant opportunity for horsepeople to earn chance to plead their case and get the language in the legislation purse money as they enter the off-season for Thoroughbred changed. But there's no guarantee that will work, and that is racing in Ontario. what has Lawson frightened about Woodbine's future. AOur organization=s sole mandate is to sustain the horse racing "The minute we heard about this bill we put up our hands and industry that supports the livelihoods of 20,000 families > said, Wait a second, the horse racing industry and the throughout the Province,@ mentioned Lawson. AWoodbine racetracks have to play a role in this,'" he said.