Asia’s racetracks are embracing digital wagering as a way to keep bettors on board while the pandemic prevents them from sitting in the stands.

On Sunday, the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) kicked off its winter season under pandemic ‘behind closed doors’ restrictions, meaning only trainers, jockeys and other stakeholders – including only one owner per horse – are allowed at the track, while the grandstands will be utterly free from the usual crowd of up to 8,000 spectators.

There was no betting offered on Sunday’s meet – the first racing activity the track (and much of India) has seen in seven months – nor will there be any on the November 7 meeting. The BTC’s new mobile betting app is apparently still not ready for prime time and reportedly won’t be available until the November 14 meeting.

This summer, the Karnataka state government gave in-principle approval to BTC’s request to offer digital wagering, the first such permission granted to any Indian racing body. But BTC managing committee member Harimohan Naidu said this weekend that the app’s development was “still under process.”