Horse racing powered gaming heads toward 2027 with measurable growth and a question about how widely it can spread. A leading operator is processing substantially more wagers, while established suppliers are building ways for other businesses to enter the category.
The clearest figures come from Game Play Network, the company behind Horseplay. Its reported wagering handle through its Oregon hub reached $475.7 million in 2025, almost three times the previous year’s total. First-half 2026 handle increased another 26.3% year over year, according to Oregon Racing Commission reports.
Those results demonstrate growth at GPN. They do not establish the size of the whole US market, the number of people playing, or how much money ultimately reaches racing.
Our guide to racing-powered games explains the mechanics, platforms and player considerations. Here, the focus is what the figures and business developments suggest about the market’s direction in 2027.
The growth figures show a business gaining momentum
Oregon Racing Commission reports track wagering through licensed multi-jurisdictional hubs, rather than just bets made by Oregon residents. Its figures show how sharply GPN’s reported business has expanded.
| Period | Game Play Network handle |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $26.3 million |
| 2024 | $166.2 million |
| 2025 | $475.7 million |
| January–June 2025 | $225.1 million |
| January–June 2026 | $284.4 million |
The 2025 increase was 186.3%. GPN’s $309.5 million gain exceeded the $291.7 million increase across the entire reported Oregon hub system. Combined, the other licensees declined slightly.
That makes GPN’s performance significant within the reported system. However, these are licensee-level totals, rather than a separate Horseplay brand breakdown or a measure of every US racing-powered gaming product.
The 2026 report reviewed contains the first two quarters, so it does not establish a full-year result.
Handle also measures wagers, not deposits, revenue or unique players. Winnings can be wagered again, allowing the same funds to contribute repeatedly to the total. Higher handle could reflect a larger audience, heavier activity among existing customers, or both.
For 2027, active paying customers, retention and net revenue would provide a more complete picture of whether demand is broadening alongside wagering volume.
More suppliers are building routes into the market
The supplier developments give the growth story a wider context.
In June 2026, BetMakers announced a content agreement and pari-mutuel partnership with Drayton International, combining games with its Global Tote and GTX infrastructure. At that stage, it described the product as undergoing user-acceptance testing, with production readiness anticipated in 2026.
Its July quarterly report subsequently recorded executed commercial agreements with Bragg Gaming Group and Dreamstreak, part of the Drayton Group, to integrate pari-mutuel-powered reveal games and content into its digital wagering solutions.
Bragg separately confirmed that it completed its Drayton acquisition on July 22.
These are concrete business commitments. They still do not tell us how many consumer brands will launch successfully or how many customers they will retain.
The existing market already demonstrates how a consumer brand can work with a separate wagering provider. GiddyUp’s official FAQ identifies KHK Games as the business behind its platform and AmWest as the provider of its licensed advance-deposit wagering framework.
If suppliers can offer a workable combination of racing wagers, games and account infrastructure, more brands could enter during 2027. That is a reasonable inference from the partnerships, rather than a confirmed launch schedule.
Could major casino brands drive the next phase?
Established gambling operators could bring wider distribution, familiar branding, and exclusive games. There is already a reported sign of movement. Eilers & Krejcik Gaming’s October 2026 report summary says its industry checks indicate that a leading PPG brand is being acquired by a major regulated operator. It does not name the buyer or target, so it cannot establish a FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, or bet365 deal.
Caesars has its own Empire Creative studio, which launched its first proprietary game in May 2025. It also has a content and technology partnership with Bragg, which subsequently acquired Drayton. Those relationships make a potential route into the category easier to envisage, but they do not establish a PPG launch plan.
BetMGM is worth watching because Entain already supplies its technology and exclusive games developed by in-house studios, as confirmed in its October 2026 business update.
bet365 is another plausible contender. Its recruitment for a Head of In-House Games describes a proprietary games portfolio and an internal content strategy. It also develops gaming features such as Jackpot365, which, in its West Virginia launch announcement, it describes as built in-house.
A racing-powered offering could broaden bet365’s US product mix and create an additional revenue stream alongside sports betting. That could support profitability if customers return and revenue covers acquisition, racing and operating costs. It is a commercial rationale, rather than evidence of bet365’s intentions or proof that PPG margins would exceed those of its existing products.
FanDuel has a different starting advantage: it already distributes conventional racing bets through FanDuel Racing and its sportsbook.
An in-house studio could create distinctive game presentations, but a conventional slot cannot simply be relabeled as racing-powered. Its outcome and settlement would need to fit the underlying racing wagers. Operators would still require suitable wagering providers, racing agreements and permissions.
A partnership or acquisition, potentially retaining a specialist consumer brand, appears to be a plausible near-term route. No confirmed PPG launch timetable for these named operators was identified in the announcements reviewed.
For 2027, a named deal followed by a functioning consumer launch would be stronger evidence than a familiar casino brand expressing interest.
Who is playing? The audience question remains open
Horseplay’s positioning targets people who enjoy familiar game formats and want to play for money without having to learn conventional race handicapping.
In a March 2026 interview, GPN president Russell Fine described a mobile-first experience using quick picks and casino-style or scratch-game presentations. That identifies an intended audience. It does not establish the typical customer’s age, gender or previous gambling activity. A casino-style interface alone cannot demonstrate that racing is attracting a younger generation. Fine also said that some early customers deposited and withdrew quickly to check whether they would be paid. He reported demand for more casino-style games.
These are operator observations, but they suggest that trust and the game offering matter alongside the racing mechanism.
One plausible source of demand is existing gamblers seeking casino-style entertainment where conventional licensed online casinos are unavailable. Another is people attracted to a particular game rather than to racing itself. Public player data would be needed to establish the balance.
For 2027, retention is the more revealing test. Customers trying a new format once is different from an audience returning after the introductory promotion ends.
The next competition could be over the experience
More games would give operators more to advertise, but clarity and convenience could matter just as much.
These products link game presentation to horse-race wagers, whose settlement and credit handling can differ from those of conventional casino play. Fine discussed that relationship in an August 2026 Paulick Report interview.
GiddyUp’s terms, for example, describe potential settlement delays and separate promotional-credit rules. They also explain that gameplay choices and timing do not change the underlying wagering return. Exact provisions vary by product.
For operators seeking repeat customers, the practical questions are straightforward: can players understand their balances, recognize when funds become withdrawable and get useful support?
Exclusive games may attract a first visit. A clear, reliable service could help customers return.
Expansion still depends on permissions and racing partners
Distribution agreements do not themselves authorize every participating brand or game in every state.
Game Play Network describes its model as licensed advance-deposit wagering on horse races, operating under applicable federal and state law. That should not be treated as nationwide online casino authorization.
For 2027, credible expansion would mean identified launches supported by the necessary wagering arrangements and jurisdiction-specific permissions. A larger potential footprint in a supplier presentation is a different milestone.
Operators also need racing content, settlement infrastructure and commercial agreements that make the service workable. The underlying racing business remains part of the product, even when the customer mostly sees reels or cards.
What racing receives matters more than headline handle
In his Paulick Report interview, Fine said GPN generates host fees, source-market fees, tote fees and other racing-related revenue. He also described higher wagering turnover and lower margins than traditional racing models.
Those are operator explanations, rather than a public breakdown of payments to individual beneficiaries.
More wagers could produce valuable revenue for racing while contributing a different amount per dollar bet than conventional wagering. The financial contribution therefore needs to be examined separately from handle.
It also matters whether the activity is additional. A customer arriving from another form of gambling could represent new money for racing. A customer shifting existing racing bets into another interface may have a different effect.
Financial support and sporting interest are separate outcomes, too. Someone could enjoy reveal games without watching a race or becoming a conventional racing bettor. Their wagering might still contribute fees, but that would not demonstrate growth in racing fandom.
The market forecasts need a timeline
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming’s public report summary estimates a mature US pari-mutuel-powered gaming market of $2 billion to $5 billion in annual gross gaming revenue.
It says the outcome depends partly on how closely the product can approach the experience of instant-settlement games.
That is an analyst forecast for a mature market, not current revenue or a prediction for 2027. It also cannot be compared directly with GPN’s handle figures, which measure a different thing.
The report covers Hard Rock’s Florida games based on past motor races as well. Those provide wider context for racing-linked entertainment, but their separate legal framework and economics should not be folded into live horse-racing-powered gaming totals.
What to watch during 2027
| Development | Evidence that would matter |
|---|---|
| Major-operator entry | Named deals, confirmed launches and subsequent customer activity |
| Growing demand | Active paying customers and retention alongside handle |
| Better economics | Net revenue and acquisition costs rather than wagers alone |
| Benefits for racing | Incremental payments to racing and evidence about customer origins |
The strongest case today is that a leading operator has demonstrated growth and suppliers are committing resources to the category. Wider success remains something to test.
During 2027, the useful question will be whether those commitments produce businesses with returning customers and a worthwhile contribution to racing. Another rise in handle would help the story. Evidence showing who is returning, why they stay and what racing receives would tell us much more.
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