Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Western Region Off-Track Betting (WROTB) is under the microscope as the New York State Comptroller is conducting an audit of the public agency beginning this month.
The audit is happening after several requests from stakeholders. 17 municipalities that receive money from the agency, including Erie County.
Political analyst Ken Kruly, from PoliticsandStuff.com, said part of the focus of the audit is on revenue being lost at the racetrack.
"Batavia Downs is losing over a million dollars a year. There are also eight betting parlors, which are also losing over a million dollars a year," said Kruly on WBEN.
"There's a lot for Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to look at. With some aggressive changes, the OTB Board could probably save two and a half million dollars or more which could be distributed to local governments to help taxpayers."
WROTB is a public entity, but does not share its finances with the public. Kruly described the organization as being quiet and secretive about their budget. It's been in existence for over 50 years with an old school form of gambling that is fading as the gambling landscape has changed.
"The Casino is doing fine," he said, "but their other operations are losing money."
In his online blog, Kruly noted that The Catskills Regional OTB recently shut down. The New York City program closed its doors in 2010.
Kruly also explained that the days of attention and interest in horse racing has greatly diminished. He fears that in a few years OTB may outlive its usefulness.
"The Casino is doing fine, but changes are needed in their other operations," he said.
WROTB recently raised eyebrows over payouts to board members. Some state lawmakers have questioned whether those payouts were legal.
The payouts will not be part of the Comptroller audit.
Byron Brown became president and CEO of WROTB in October. He has said his goal is to generate more revenue for the 17 municipalities that benefit from the organization.
With Sunday one of the biggest gambling days of the year, Kruly was asked just how much people are gambling on sports in New York State.
"It's an extraordinary amount of money. In the last fiscal year which ended last April, about $19 billion was spent on online sports betting in the state. For the current fiscal year, $17 billion was spent as of the end of December. With the Super Bowl and March Madness coming, it's quite likely it will exceed $21 or $22 billion."
The state is profiting from it by receiving nearly a billion dollars in revenue.
The Comptroller's audit is expected to be complete in June or July.