Hamamatsu City will act as the managing operator holding centralized control of funds for a new official multi-race betting ticket (jushiki shashaken) for AutoRace, sold jointly with four co-organizing municipalities: Kawaguchi, Isesaki, Iizuka and Sanyo-Onoda1. Sales were scheduled to begin in October 2023 (Reiwa 5)1. The city published the plan in its fiscal 2023 initial budget documents on March 17, 20231.
The budget line for the small motor vehicle racing business is 561,441 thousand yen, all of it from general revenue sources, covering part of the national small motor vehicle racing operators' council contribution, part of JKA grants, part of race-hosting outsourcing fees, part of race-hosting expenses, part of payouts to winners and part of refunds when races are voided1. Projected sales are 600 million yen over 182 sales days1.
Three ticket types were planned, all sold through the official internet voting site1:
| Ticket | Type | Sales per day | Carryover |
|---|---|---|---|
| AutoRace TWO | 2-race win, 2-horse quinella | 3 to 6 times at one venue per day | No |
| AutoRace THREE | 3-race win, 2-horse quinella | Once at one venue per day | Yes |
| AutoRace FOUR | 4-race win, 2-horse quinella | Once at one venue per day | Yes |
The city gave two reasons for the launch: to attract new AutoRace fans and to raise sales1. It said internet betting through private portal sites has been growing while official internet voting run by the AutoRace Promotion Foundation has been flat, so new measures to lift sales were needed1.
"本市を資金の一元管理を行う管理施行者として、新公式重勝式勝車投票券を発売する。"
The city's budget document gives an October 2023 start but does not name a day1.
Multi-race tickets are pari-mutuel, meaning payouts come from the pool of money staked after the operator's deduction. The deduction rate for AutoRace is 30 percent, against 25 percent for keirin and boat racing. Some keirin and AutoRace multi-race tickets are sold at 200 yen to 2,000 yen per unit, rather than the usual 100 yen minimum. Where a multi-race pool has a carryover and no ticket matches, the carryover system applies instead of the special payout that returns stakes minus the deduction.
What it means for players
The tickets are sold only through the official internet voting site, not at track windows, so a player needs an official online account to buy them1. Multi-race bets require picking the finishing order in two, three or four separate races, which is harder to hit than a single-race bet, and the 30 percent AutoRace deduction is the highest among Japan's four public racing sports. AutoRace THREE and AutoRace FOUR carry jackpot pools that roll over when nobody wins, while AutoRace TWO does not1. Payouts are treated as temporary income for Japanese tax purposes and profits above the set deduction require an annual tax filing; losses generally cannot be deducted from other income.
What happens next
The city's budget document lists the start as October 2023 and 182 sales days, without naming a date1. No further schedule for the three ticket types has been reported.
Sources1 sources
- 〈新規〉新公式重勝式車券発売／浜松市, city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp
