New York's Off Track Betting Corporation Files for Bankruptcy

New York, NYThe Off Track Betting Corporation, one of the oldest legalized gaming companies in the country, recently announced that it will be seeking bankruptcy protection citing dwindling profits and a need for reorganization.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">The company, which operates storefront horse-race gambling parlors throughout New York City, has fallen on hard times financially, with Bloomberg reporting the company's five-year losses at $45 million.

The state took control of the corporation after considerable debt had accumulated, prompting New York State Governor David A. Paterson to issue an executive order authorizing the company to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection this past September, according to a report by the New York Times.

"We're not going to be asking for any taxpayer dollars," the corporation's Chairman Meyer Frucher tells Bloomberg. Instead the company will ask for a $250 million bond sale to help pay debts and modernize OTB's 66 locations.

Under federal law, an individual or an organization can file for bankruptcy protection when faced with unmanageable debt or pending fiscal insolvency.