by Trey Nosrac

Anti-gambling legislation prevents harness racing from having a presence in South Carolina. The legislation seems unreasonable because a basketball game is streaming on my television, and the announcers are debating live betting odds while gambling site commercials blare incessantly. Gambling money is rolling into some pockets, and hopefully, states cut a good deal for a part of the pie.

We get it. The Palmetto State wants to remain pure from the menace of gambling, and they have their reasons. We wouldn’t mind this quaint stance. We might even salute them and join shoulders if their legislation did not impact our favorite sport. The anti-gambling laws may be a nuisance but will no longer be a solid barrier. South Carolinians will find a way to gamble if they have a cell phone and desperately want to place a wager.

For several reasons, and not just money, establishing harness horse racing in anti-gambling states would be a good idea. New states could offer a fresh start for a rather stale sport. Should harness racing face strong headwinds in existing states, a few budding racing programs in new states could provide shelter from the storm. An emerging racing program in the south would be a business challenge with a clean slate.

Recently, I tried a new tactic to approach my strange quest for opening racing programs in new states by outsourcing the question and possible solutions to artificial intelligence. The subsequent experiment was mindboggling, and I only scratched the surface.

I began by asking about the existing legislative situation and how South Carolina’s legislative stance on gambling impacted the potential revenue. AI quickly referred me to a recent article summary about revenue left on the table from offshore and illegal platforms. My friend from machine learning reported that nothing legislatively seems urgent or imminent regarding horse racing or gambling for the South Carolina state legislature.

“Well, okay,” I asked the machine, “If South Carolina, a non-gambling state, retains the current legislative position, are there any possible workarounds should a private entity not want to wait decades to bring a harness racing program to South Carolina? Give me some options.”

Before going forward, let me mention that I have proposed this question (circumventing state anti-gambling legislation) to several humans of good standing in harness racing circles. The human answers were pessimistic and included scoffing, eye rolls, headshakes, and terms such as impossible and unlikely.

AI quickly gave me five possibilities for circumventing current legislation in summary form and asked if I wanted to dive deeper into each concept.

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Due to the state’s strict gambling laws, circumventing state legislation to create a viable alternative stakes race program in South Carolina will be challenging. However, there are creative avenues an investor could potentially explore. Each would still likely require some level of legal oversight or legislative change:

1. Private, invitation-only betting programs: Some states have attempted to create private, non-public betting pools to circumvent traditional state-sanctioned gambling laws. These might be limited to exclusive membership, where participants can bet or invest in races. However, this would still require careful legal navigation to avoid violating state laws regarding gambling. It would likely only work with a small, private group of high-net-worth individuals passionate about the sport.

2. Non-gambling aspects of racing: If the focus is on non-wagering aspects of racing, such as hosting events, breeding programs, and racing as a spectator sport (without gambling involved), there may be more room to operate within the state’s existing legal framework. However, this would not create the revenue stream that pari-mutuel betting or other gambling mechanisms would provide.

3. Collaborations with Native American tribes: South Carolina does not allow commercial casinos, but some Native American tribes operate casinos on their land. If the South Carolina tribes were interested in expanding their gambling offerings, partnering with them to offer harness racing alongside other casino-style gambling might be possible. However, this would require negotiations, new compacts, and potentially state-level legislative action.

4. Cross-border partnerships: A potential workaround could involve cross-border partnerships with neighboring states allowing pari-mutuel racing wagering to be shown, and bettors from South Carolina could participate in off-site betting, assuming that the necessary legal infrastructure for online and off-site betting was in place. This approach, however, might still face challenges related to interstate gambling laws.

5. Advocacy and legislative change: Ultimately, the most straightforward path would be lobbying for changes to the state’s gambling laws. Private investors could work with lobbyists, lawmakers, and the public to push for the legalization of harness racing and pari-mutuel wagering, making the program fully viable and compliant with state laws.
In conclusion, while innovative approaches exist to creating a racing program, most would still require legal gray areas that could risk future litigation or direct changes to South Carolina’s gambling laws. Would you like more data?

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That was enough for my brain to process. My immediate takeaways were:

In idea No. 1, we only need a mega mogul, or several mini-moguls, to take the reins and blow a billion dollars on a southern harness racing resurgence. The problem of expansion is solved.

Idea No. 2 is a tepid pilot project, creating a base waiting for gambling revenue streams.

Idea No. 3, who knows, but if the existing Indian tribes or new tribes see money, they can skip rules and calculate employment opportunities. I see this is a definite maybe.

Idea No. 4 was my favorite, non-gambling states hooking up with a gambling neighbor. It inspired me to think about a new workaround – a cross-border partnership between South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida could be fantastic. In this iteration, the entrepreneurs only need one state where it is legal to race and gamble on horses. In this scenario, Florida could serve as the gambling hub, thread whatever remnants of non-gambling state’s training centers, racetracks, and farms they have, and make a southern circuit, a tri-state breeding and racing program.

Idea No. 5: it seems like a slow slog, the same old.

Pick a plan, pick a new state, get the sulky wheels rolling, and if the new southern circuit gets complicated, AI can help you and your investors flesh out a more detailed plan.