Horse-race betting machines could be coming back for the first time since the 2010 demise of Off-Track Betting parlors, sources told The Post.
New York Racing Association brass — including a top donor to Mayor de Blasio — are pushing a plan that would put about 50 of the machines in bars and restaurants across the five boroughs.
“It would probably recapture 10 or 20 percent of what OTB represented,” said one source familiar with the talks. “My understanding is that [the mayor’s] receptive to it.”
At least initially, the machines would only be available to the roughly 20,000 NYRA account holders, bypassing the need for new legislative approvals.
The state would have to approve any expansion to the general public.
But any prospective bettor could easily open a NYRA betting account with a few clicks on the Web.
A backer of the proposal, NYRA board member Anthony Bonomo, is one of de Blasio’s top campaign fund-raisers.
Along with family members, Bonomo piled up $71,500 for the mayor’s successful run for Gracie Mansion, his 2009 debts and for his inauguration, according to campaign records.
Bonomo told the Daily Racing Form that the betting machines could be in place by next month.
“We’ve had a couple of meetings with the city, the mayor’s office and the mayor himself to discuss the strategy,” Bonomo the Form. “We’re very far down the line, I think, to getting the approval to go forward with this. It’s good for racing. It’s good for the bar owners because they’re looking for things to attract people into their establishments. It will be very controlled under the auspices of the mayor’s office.”
But an administration source said Bonomo “had a brief, unscheduled hello” and “there was no formal meeting.”
The mayor’s office said the plan is under review.
“City Hall staff often meet with organizations to hear new ideas and feedback. We are reviewing NYRA’s proposal,” said spokeswoman Marti Adams.
NYRA didn’t return calls.