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Originally Posted by DeanT
As you know T, we have the article up on the website about what racing can/might be in 2050. For a link to the interesting article its here at a standardbred trade magazine. http://previewsc.ca/trot/may-2009/your-choice.html
Some of that seems way out there, but watching racing on my phone twenty years ago seemed the same. In fact, if you said that in 1980, you probably would have been committed.
A few facts about changing technology and in return changing markets? I'll take a stab:
In 2009 you can hold in your hand about 10-20,000 songs on an IPOD. In 2015 with data storage growing at an exponential current rate you will be able to hold, in the palm of your hand every song ever recorded in the history of music. In 2019 it is estimated that in the palm of your hand you will be able to hold every piece of video ever recorded in history - every movie, every youtube clip, everything.
Currently $500-$700B of bets are placed on skill games online a year, only to grow. Racings current handle is $13 billion dollars in NA, at all tracks and online. And on track betting is shrinking each day.
In south Korea they are instituting super-broadband via a gvt initiative. 55% of South Koreans surf the web in the palm of their hand over 10 hours a week. In a startling stat, 33% of South Korean 3 year old children are considered "web surfers". In 15 years those children will be legal aged bettors. Are we ready for them and that market? Will they come to the track for 6 hours and bet?
I think we have a lot of work to do in looking outside our market by preparing for tomorrow, today. |
Your examples of technology improvements illustrates that in some ways racing is facing a tremendous opportunity with the potential for substantial handle growth, which is absolutely crucial to the future of the sport. The key is properly incorporating new technology while at the same time allowing racing to retain some of the core attributes of racing which make it special and differentiate it from other forms of gambling.
Now I have made no secret of the fact that I am not into Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc. But if it helps bring some new blood into the sport and new money into the pools, then I am all in favor of it. In fact, its nice to see a more pro-active approach by different race tracks using those new mediums. just don't expect me to me to be doing it, I will be with all the "not cool" old fogies.
