MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2025

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.     ARCI Model Rules Meeting 

                                               Open to the public. Registration required.

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.   ARCI Board meeting (Members Only)

12:00 p.m.                         RGCS Registration Opens

                                           Welcome and Opening Remarks

2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.       Racing Ahead: Immigration Policy and the Future of the Hospitality Industry, Horse Racing and Casino Labor 

The entire domestic hospitality industry – including casinos and horse racing – has long depended on attracting and maintaining a skilled and dedicated workforce, including many immigrants who view hospitality as a key entry point to the US labor force. As the Trump administration tightens visa programs and enforcement, racetrack and casino operators across the country feel the pressure. How are they responding to this new reality? How are President Trump’s policies impacting their bottom lines? What policies do gaming operators want the federal government to pursue? What are the day-to-day impacts on backstretch and service workers? 

2:50 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.       Off-Track Betting in an Expanding Gambling Market

The legal gambling landscape is rapidly evolving. Changes that range from new casino licenses in Downstate New York to the emergence of iGaming and iLottery as well as mobile and retail sportsbooks and beyond are all entering the mainstream. How should Off-Track Betting corporations (OTBs) address these unprecedented challenges? What are the opportunities for innovation and integration for these longstanding gaming verticals? How can OTB operations modernize and grow?

3:40 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.      Networking Break

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.       Predicting the Future of Prediction Markets: Will they Go or Grow? 

Licensed, regulated gaming operators already face pressure from a rapidly expanding array of unregulated competitors. In 2025, yet another vertical – prediction wagering – offers the potential to further upend the status quo. Do such operators, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), represent a challenge or a dire threat to operators that are regulated by states? This panel of professionals offers a view from the trenches of this increasingly complicated competition for gambling dollars.

5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.      Welcome Reception at the Adelphi Hotel

                                           Sponsored by Sports Betting Alliance

7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.      Continental Breakfast

7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.      Registration

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.      Opening Address by Patrick Brown, Conference Owner

                                           Call to the Races by the Bugler

9:00 a.m. –  10:00 a.m.    New York Panel – Morning Line on Downstate Licenses 

After a long, strange trip, New York is finally poised to award up to three licenses for full-service destination casinos in the critical Downstate region. Will this race result in a trifecta, an exacta, or produce a photo-finish victory for favorites or longshots? Our panel of policy and business professionals will handicap what is clearly one of the most critical licensing competitions in the history of legal gaming.

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  iCasino or Brick-and Mortar: Roadmap to Future or Dead End? 

Casinos have been an economic mainstay in the eastern United States for nearly a half-century, while iGaming has been a presence for barely a decade. Which form of gambling has a brighter future? Which will generate more revenue or advance public policies? Can these two verticals work together to their mutual benefit to advance policies on issues that range from urban development to employment to tax revenue generation? Our experts will examine this rapidly evolving issue and chart the future of these two gaming verticals.

11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.     Networking Break

11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.    Anti Money Laundering (AML) Enforcement in the Gaming Sector: Are State Regulators Adequately Equipped? 

As financial crimes grow more sophisticated – especially with digital payments, crypto, and cross-border actors – state gaming regulators are increasingly on the front line of AML enforcement. This session explores whether current tools, authorities, and interagency relationships are sufficient to meet the challenge.

12:20 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.     Luncheon

2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.  Can Horse Racing Ride the Sports Betting Wave? 

Does the racing business model need to adapt to new opportunities in sports betting? Should tracks consider marketing their traditional product as a sports bet? The traditional racing business model relies heavily on pari-mutuel wagering and is often disconnected from mainstream sports-betting markets. Will this evolving reality bring racing operators into the gaming regulatory tent, or will they still operate under racing commission rules? As legal sports betting heads into the stretch, this panel of top executives will examine whether racing can adapt with new marketing and analytical strategies or risk finishing out of the money.

2:50 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.  Stakes Race for Sweepstakes and “Skill Games”: New Players? Outlaws or Innovators? 

The existence and growing presence of gray-market verticals such as sweepstakes and “skill games” is already producing black-and-white choices for traditional, licensed gaming sectors and state governments: Should such verticals be licensed or outlawed? Between these two extremes, policymakers must consider a wide range of serious implications. How are licensed operators being impacted? Do sweepstakes and “skill games” cannibalize or threaten capital investment in legal operations? Should regulators and licensed operators confront this new reality or wave a white flag? How can the legal gaming industry either compete against or work in tandem with those who are embracing new forms of wagering that do not abide by traditional rules? A panel of experienced experts from the public and private sectors will address the critical question as to whether the licensed industry should adapt to – or confront – this challenge. 

3:40 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.      Networking Break

4:10 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.      The Triple Crown and Fractured Leadership in the Industry

The venerated Triple Crown schedule for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes has been locked in a five-week stretch since the early 20th century. While that rapid succession of races was once feasible, this trifecta of races has evolved into a hot debate in the horse racing and gaming industries. Is the traditional structure still feasible? Would a longer stretch between races result in fewer injuries and more recovery time for horses? Will tradition prevail, allowing future horses to be compared with legends like Secretariat or American Pharoah? How does the current calendar align with such issues as spring sports coverage and track tourism? This expert panel will address these and other issues that are central to this critical debate.

5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.      The Finish Line Happy Hour

7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.     Registration

7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.      Continental Breakfast

8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.      Opening Address

9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.      The Decoupling  Battle – Past, Present and Future 

Recent headlines have highlighted the battle in Florida over the attempt to decouple or separate horseracing and gaming licenses. But is this just a Florida issue? A number of states predicated their expansion into gaming on a license to conduct horseracing. The expansion of gaming was sold to the public and to legislators as a way to help fund the racing industry, including purses and breeders’ awards. Supporters emphasized the importance of horse racing as an agricultural business and employer in the state. What happens to racing if racing and gaming are no longer conducted by the same entities or at the same locations? Is there a scenario where decoupling makes sense and should be permitted? 

9:50 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.  Networking Break

10:20 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. ADWs, State Regulators, Federal Courts and What’s Next? 

Is a bet made where it is placed, where it is accepted, or both? Michigan says an online horse racing bet is made where it is placed and therefore Michigan law and regulations apply to bets made in Michigan. Twin Spires says the bet is made where it is accepted; i.e., where the Twin Spires computers are located, and therefore Oregon law applies. Confused yet? Does this issue matter to anyone other than racing wonks and gaming lawyers? Short answer: Yes. Addressing this essential question matters to every horse player who chooses to bet online, as well as every sports bettor, gaming regulator and lawmaker across the nation. A panel of lawyers and executives from across the horse racing and gaming spectrum have been enlisted to decipher this seemingly simple gambling conundrum.

11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Top Legislators and National View

Elected officials in gaming states – including New York – are tasked with setting their respective gaming policies, and then making sure those policies work on behalf of their constituents and their states. A host of technological, political and demographic trends are creating challenges for those elected officials. Such challenges range from the emergence of iGaming to gray-market gambling to gaming expansion in other states, among others. Are lawmakers still in the driver’s seat, or are they simply passengers watching helplessly as others set gaming policy? What is the experience of veteran legislators, and what lessons do they have for their colleagues?

12:00 p.m.      The Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga concludes.

                        Attendees are encouraged to meet at Saratoga Race Course

                        for 1 p.m. post time

Note: Agenda subject to change