Orleans gets big payout from WROTB with Batavia Downs success

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 March 2026 at 9:28 am

Photo by Tom Rivers: The video gaming center at Batavia Downs has been a money-maker for Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., which shares its profits with 15 counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo.

Orleans County is seeing a near doubling in its share of the profits from Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.

The county received $189,607 from WROTB in 2025, up from $101,097 in 2024.

WROTB is owned by 15 counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo. Batavia Downs Gaming has proven to be a money-maker for WROTB, averaging about $7.5 million in profit or “net win” a month with NYS receiving 39 percent of that total.

The WROTB revenues shared with the member municipalities increased from $6,705,049 in 2024 to $12,865,737 in 2025, a 92 percent increase.

“WROTB closed fiscal year 2025 with record-breaking results, marking the most successful year in the corporation’s history,” President and CEO Byron Brown wrote in a letter to Lynne Johnson, chairperson of the Orleans County Legislature.

WROTB paid out $251 million in winnings, up from $243 million. The organization also saw net win for the organization total $93 million, an increase of $4.7 million over 2024 and year-over-year growth of 5.4 percent, Brown said.

Orleans County was an original member when WROTB formed over 50 years ago. Since 1975, Orleans has received $3,180,777 from WROTB, Brown stated in his letter to Johnson.

Here are the revenues paid to Orleans County each year since 2020:

2020: $6,975 (Covid restrictions shut down operations for several months before reopening with restrictions.)
2021: $85,236
2022: $123,945
2023: $144,691
2024: $101,097
2025: $189,607