Article started from previous post Racetracks Struggling to Survive – Part 1
Another solution that racetrack owners are contemplating is to bring slots onto their gaming floors. Slots offer a lot of power to any business they are involved in.
Just look at how well they do for casinos. Slots are by far the number one money- generating games in casinos. They bring in consistent dollars all day long.
This kind of power is something that racetracks would love to harness. The hybrid gambling location that combines slots and racing is called the "racino." The fact is that if racetracks could get slots added to their businesses, they could relatively easily raise the cash needed to turn themselves around.
This is something that most racetracks are thinking about. This is coming up against some opposition though. The bottom line is that other casinos are not happy about their own businesses being threatened by another location having access to slots. It would seriously thin out the market if they were allowed to bring slots to every racetrack around the different states.
Sure it would increase tax revenue dollars that the states bring in, but it also would cut back on individual casinos' revenue streams. This is something that legislators are thinking hard on. Should they allow racetracks to thin out the market that much?
Finally, another solution would be for racetracks to get money from other gambling centers. Some racetrack owners are suggesting that casinos divert part of their own revenue and contribute it to a fund they could then draw from. This is probably the most unlikely option because other gambling centers do now want to save racetracks with their own funding. They aren't excited about saving another market. It isn't a priority when they themselves are first coming out of their own harrowing financial times.
Overall though, racetrack owners have to continue to develop. Of course their number one priority is to generate more cash, and there are few ways of doing it. Some are more likely than others but it will take time to see which ones work and which ones don't.
Something has to be done though for racing to continue to grow and not get shut out of the market entirely.
If you want to bet at a racetrack, you may have some problems right now. The racing market is one that is struggling greatly. Racing used to be big-dollar business. All you had to do was visit a racetrack and you could feel the excitement. Horses ran and people put big wagers for the purpose of winning the huge purses.