A Clear Window
May 21, 2018,by Bob Carson
Editor’s Note: The USTA website is pleased to present freelance writer Bob Carson and his popular “Outside the Box” features. This monthly series is a menu of outlandish proposals presented with a wink — but the purpose behind them is serious. The views contained in this column are that of the author alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the United States Trotting Association.
Bob Carson
As you read these words, your world has changed. The change originated from an action of the Supreme Court of the United States. On May 14, 2018, the court rendered a decision on legislation titled, The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
The question at the core of the rather complex ruling was who is in control of sports gambling — is it the Federal government or the individual states? PASPA forbids states from repealing their own bans on sports betting. Nevada, along with three states with certain restrictions, Delaware, Oregon and Montana, were the only places you could legally place a wager on professional football games or other pro sporting events.
New Jersey sued to join those states for the right to offer sports gambling in their state. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey. Twenty other states watched this case closely. Some of these states have done more than watch. They have passed if/then sports gambling legislation — if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey then their state legislation goes into effect.
Justice Samuel Alito offered his opinion, “Congress can be allowed to regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own.” Therefore, without federal oversight, the rules governing sportsbooks fall to each state legislature.
How will the crumbling of PASPA affect our corner of the gambling world, a gambling corner where once horse racing had a monopoly on legal sports gambling in the form of a carve-out in PASPA?
Nobody truly knows. Allowing states to set rules and regulate an entire landscape of sports gambling is new territory, territory where breathtaking amounts of money are at stake.
Looking at a gambling world without PASPA, states will begin by offering sports gambling at brick and mortar facilities that have experience with gambling — like racetracks and racinos. For a window of time, this new world of sports gambling should be located in physical locations.
This would appear to offer a window of opportunity that horse racing has not seen in decades — new traffic of sporting gamblers. For horse racing, this adrenaline surge of new visitors to venues that host live horse racing may be our last and best opportunity to harvest new fans. We should not squander this opportunity.
We all have friends and family members who will head to the nearest facility to wager on ballgames. Why not make a concerted effort to convert some of these people to horse racing fans and harness horse handicappers. Three simple ideas spring to mind that may be useful in harvesting a new crop of horse enthusiasts.
The first step should be to physically funnel new visitors in a manner where they at least see, smell and hear horses. Racetracks should make a conscious effort at always having horses training, jogging, racing, standing on the apron, even grazing on the infield when new visitors arrive. Racing should try to get these new folks as close as possible to our unique product.
After funneling visitors to our horses, we should have ambassadors on the ground, young and old, paid and volunteer, available to answer questions and engage with any potential new harness racing fan. Person to person promotion can be effective. Harness racing has had many nice programs along these lines in the past; the problem was finding enough possible traffic. Unfettered onsite gambling might provide the traffic and this traffic may be of a different mindset than casino players.
Finally, create a simple wager that does not frighten new people away, perhaps offer an odd/even wager for five dollars at the racetrack, the wager would not be to make money for the racetrack, the wager would be intended to create future customers. New visitors who pause to watch and to wager on a race should find our sport a simple process. Why not let them cheer for simply odd or even, let them “win” often. At this introductory level, keep the new person away from programs, handicapping, pedigrees and everything that we find mesmerizing.
Here is a concrete example. I know a young man named Drew. Drew loves sports but not horse racing. He told me he never saw a horse race except for the Kentucky Derby on television. I showed him his first harness race on my phone.
Drew told me when he could legally wager on his beloved professional football team he would definitely drive to the nearby harness racetrack/casino and wager. He might hang around the sports book and have a beer or he might drive home and watch the football game.
Drew will be in the building.
He loves sports.
He will wager.
Magnificent horses will be in the vicinity.
He is open to learning.
Drew is not the type of gambler who will sit in front of a slot machine.
We have a chance to entice Drew.
This is all we can ask for.
While horse racing has operated on inertia for a long time, visits from thousands of people like Drew will offer us a unique window of opportunity to grow. We should do our utmost to make the visits of these new sports fans engaging. Existing fans, gamblers, horse people, racetracks, we should all shake off the rust and put on a good show as if our lives and livelihoods depend on it. Prepare our place for new faces and make a good first impression.
We should not waste a minute or a visitor, because windows can close quickly.
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The link below will take you to the official court document with both supporting and dissenting opinions regarding the ability of states to allow sports gambling.