Forgive me at the outset for the obvious puns that sprang to life this week after “Saracen v. Oaklawn.”
The first I’ll employ is the general theme of this NIL/Razorback subplot: Pony up, and game on. Saracen Casino wants to dually choke off international, legally dubious outside gaming, but to also bring big money to the Arkansas athletic program coffers. Carlton Saffa, the Chief Marketing Officer for Saracen, made waves a few days ago with a proposal to this effect, which he initially communicated in a more firebrand way but then explained further in an excellent interview with DeltaPlex News.
Meanwhile, Oaklawn president Louis Cella fired back with a “put your money where your mouth is” gift of $500,000 to the Razorback Foundation. The Arkansas Racing Commission, perhaps unsurprisingly, adopted an assessment that legalities and practicalities would intervene, and Saffa, entirely unsurprisingly, had plenty to say in response.
Saffa wants mobile games of chance to be a funnel of untold sums of good clean NIL money into Arkansas Edge, the UA’s official NIL collective. Cella wants area and regional businesses to get on board with Oaklawn.
Both can happen, I think, but the University of Arkansas and the Razorback Foundation should simply accept gifts, stay neutral and move forward with the Edge NIL program.
Oaklawn vs. Saracen
If nothing else, this recent episode lays bare — in a very productive way, it seems — the real guts of the new NIL era. Big programs are only striving to get bigger, and massive conference realignments have changed the manner of competing for coveted dollars.
Oaklawn’s commitment is a big one, and its advocacy is important. There’s no disputing that the state’s longest-running wagering (and at times, highest-attended) sports venue brings clout. Cella’s father, Charles, captained the track for years and was a pioneer in the burgeoning gaming industry in Arkansas.
Saffa’s bold proclamations show that he’s “all in” too, but in a markedly different way. Saracen’s proposal would certainly not harm the Foundation, but from this attorney and moonlighting Hog blogger’s perspective, the concerns about legality are legitimate. Keep in mind this state has long had some weird vice laws (dry counties, anyone?) and this type of funding arrangement simply cannot be employed until those restrictions or outright prohibitions on online games of chance are remedied.
That leads to one circumstance that hopefully even power brokers agree would be beneficial: regulating all of this at the state level seems urgent and needs to be as apolitical as possible. That last part is probably a pipe dream in these contentious times, but getting money into the athletic program is the pressing issue upon which legislators cannot afford to sleep.
Multiple states have gaming commissions or similar agencies. Then again, every state has its own curious laws in this respect, most of which are probably as unwieldy as those in this state. In fact, Arkansas has as few gaming regulatory agencies (two) as any other state, and even the likes of Vermont and Rhode Island have more (three).
To get a little context on what this state’s gaming laws look like relative to those elsewhere, the American Gaming Association’s 2023 report is an excellent shorthand guide.
And no disrespect to Cella or Oaklawn whatsoever, but the racing commission really lost its viability when one of the state’s two flagship tracks, Southland Greyhound Park, got away from the inhumane practices associated with that sport and turned into a full-fledged gaming destination.
Transparency is critical, and a consolidated gaming and racing commission could put that at the forefront as well. Let these casinos compete in every possible way, including but not limited to the support they can provide for not only Razorback athletics, but other state programs that need support, too. Private donations to the Foundation are not subject to disclosure ordinarily so most of us never know who’s giving what unless it is notably publicized.
But there’s an inherent imbalance still due to the massive potential funds that may be forthcoming, as with most industries, as haves and have-nots will emerge just as they do on those sports fields and courts. It won’t be a seamless transition from the old era of college athletics to the new, but when Tyson Foods did its thing to woo John Calipari to Fayetteville, that broke a glass ceiling of sorts. It brought home in one of the most high-profile ways possible that Arkansas’ wealthiest would keep stimulating the state’s economy by investing in the universities of this state at large.
Everybody Wins?
Imagine, if you will, a bipartisan legislative approach to something new and inventive. If politics don’t kill off progress here, it’s nothing but a boon for the Hogs, their fans and basically everyone in Arkansas.
Let the public participate, because we know they’re going to gamble, and make this at least seem less arcane than it currently is. Ask any average Joe if they understand any of the state’s gaming or racing laws, and you’ll get blank stares in most scenarios.
Govern it better, and all the benefactors get publicity and pecuniary benefits without question. And all that means is more money gets to Fayetteville and turns into four- and five-stars by extension.
I don’t think that the Foundation will ever say anything other than “All Donations Welcome.” It’s a private entity, cloistered as it gets, so if you think about the basic scenario of a mutual gift, an absence of public knowledge about both the donor and donee may lead to public distrust rather than enthusiasm.
The transparency around Arkansas Edge is unclear given the NIL funds of Texas A&M – another big public university – were recently disclosed, albeit with no further details beyond the split for male and female athletes.
Now, what does this mean for the Hogs? Well, Sam Pittman said it best after Oaklawn’s commitment became known, and he said Cella was on point about bringing more people into the fold, across all walks of life.
How could this possibly work against Arkansas athletics? Only if they weigh in much more than Pittman smartly did when he profusely thanked Cella and shared his endorsement.
I think a hands-off approach is likely anyway, but it still merits mentioning. Again, there’s a legislative session in the offing, and it seems like a good agenda item if those in the Capitol put down some of their many swords.
Impact on Arkansas
As every major college program presses forward with its own respective lusts for success, there’s no time like the present for the moneyed backers and the typical fans to join forces. Last year, when Hunter Yurachek began to promote the Arkansas Edge program, there was this odd backlash from fans who have longed for a consistently great football team but seemed unwilling to even modestly help fund it.
The money comes from the fans anyway, and that means it’s dependent on the program’s pass-fail rate. Why not let fans be more involved, as Saffa wants, but also give the “landed gentry” a chance to put things into motion, too?
I suppose this entire issue is way too complex for me to fully digest and opine on it, but it’s an important discussion for anyone in Arkansas to have. David Bazzel and I got an opportunity to banter about it on “Arkansas Week” with Steve Barnes, and while the Saracen-Oaklawn quarrel (and is it really even that?) wasn’t the primary topic, there was an absolute consensus that college athletics is a massive, confusing mess right now.
And let’s not kid ourselves, it’s a great mess to be in. Finally, there’s a window for all of us to jump through to legally help the Hogs, even if it’s still a Wild West backdrop on the other side.
I spoke with someone closely affiliated with Edge this week, and he firmly believes that Yurachek is the man to implement and navigate everything ahead. That’s comforting, and I do agree with him: for him being only the third true athletic director in modern Razorback history, he sure seems to be a charm of a hire.
Nothing in this brave new world of major college sports is ever predictable. But having a streamlined, transparent and politically unified approach to reckoning with the iGaming hurdles will do nothing but improve this state’s morale.
And maybe some infrastructure along the way.
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Watch Beau Wilcox and David Bazzel discuss NIL more below:
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More coverage of Arkansas football, NIL and the Saracen vs. Oaklawn situation from BoAS…
