TVG strikes new internet deal

Television Games Network has reached an agreement to allow betting on its exclusive racetracks through three other account-wagering sites, TVG officials said on Friday.

The agreement opens up betting on tracks owned and operated by Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association at winticket.com, brisbet.com, and tsnbet.com, the three sites licensed under the AmericaTab brand. With the additions, the sites will offer wagering on nearly every track in the country.

TVG retains nearly all the revenue from bets placed on its exclusive tracks through the sites.

Since launching early in 2001, AmericaTab's websites have become some of the most popular account-wagering operators in the country. According to figures from the Oregon Racing Commission, handle through the sites was $11.3 million in the last three months of 2001, up from only $91,000 in the second quarter of that year. TVG had handle in the fourth quarter of 2001 of $13.8 million.

TVG, which operates its own internet-betting site and a telephone-betting operation, reached a similar agreement with Youbet.com, another computer-based wagering operation, last year.