Millennials (18-34 year olds) are being targeted everywhere. They are the customers of today and the future. And because they see things quite differently than those before them, the millennial is a challenge to many sectors, including gaming.

Daniel Sahl, associate director of the Center for Gaming Innovation at UNLV, told Stateline (a publication of The Pew Charitable Trusts) “It is ‘well accepted within the industry’ that gambling as it exists today is not as attractive to millennials as it is to their parents or grandparents.

“Millennials, especially, think of leisure activities as ‘a social experience that you share with friends,’ Sahl said. “Gambling does not resonate with them as particularly fun to do.”

Slot machines are not appealing to young people, and casinos are working hard to develop experiences that will reach them. They are looking at spas, restaurants and more engaging table and digital games, to hopefully do the trick.

Another group learning about the experience-driven nature of millennials is the retail sector.

A recent study by The National Retail Federation found that during the recent 2015 holiday season, 35 percent of 18-34 year olds had planned to give a gift of experience, and half say they would liked to have received one (55 percent of 18-24 year olds & 50 percent of 25-34 year olds). Those numbers compare to just 22 percent of all consumers who planned to give an experience-type gift, and 37 percent who wished that they had received one.

Frankly, the digital world can be a lonely place and it should come as no surprise that a generation of young people is left craving real and vibrant interactions more than ever.

So why does all of this matter to us?

When done right, horse racing is the ultimate experience. At the same time that casino executives scratch their heads looking for the answer to their problems, it sits under their noses, at the track. Whether it’s dressing up or partying in the infield, meeting horses before the races, trips to walking rings or winner’s circles, jog cart rides, paddock or backstretch tours, we have the winning formula. It just needs to be put together.

They talk integration. We are integration.

We are integration between social experience and digital gaming, between agriculture and a night out, and between 21st century technology and the heritage of our towns and cities.

Fantastic annual horse racing events, held around the world, are not to be written off as one-offs. They should be held up to appreciate that when done right, it is a model so successful that it could revolutionize gambling the same way today as it did more than 100 years ago.

Is it possible that our sport could be the answer to the problem everyone else is wrestling with? Yes. Are many people aware of that fact? Well, that’s the next step.

Darryl Kaplan
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