At the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention, a panel titled “Class II Mobile Gaming – 1st to Market” focused on what happens when Class II mobile gaming moves beyond discussion and into execution. Moderated by Richard Sagman, SVP of Product Management at IGT/Everi, the session centered on Muscogee Nation Gaming Enterprise’s launch of the first Class II mobile slot app available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
For operators in the room, the value was in understanding what it actually takes to build, launch, and operate the product.
From the outset, the effort was treated as a full operational launch. Jeff Brooks, Chief Information Officer at Muscogee Nation Gaming Enterprise, described the structure behind it. “It was definitely a collaborative approach,” he said. “If we hadn’t had everybody in the room, I don’t think it would have launched as well as it did.”
That meant bringing compliance, IT, marketing, accounting, and customer support together early and keeping them aligned throughout the process.
On the compliance side, Travis Thompson, Chief Compliance Officer at Muscogee Nation Gaming Enterprise, emphasized how much of the process required building new frameworks, rather than adapting existing ones. “With new technology, obviously there are a lot of different facets you have to look at,” he said.
A large part of that work came down to redefining how familiar concepts apply in a digital environment. “Where does it live?” Thompson said, referring to the shift away from physical machines and into a system built around wallets, accounts, and digital transactions.
That required close coordination with regulators and a willingness to rethink what does and doesn’t apply.
From an operational standpoint, the scale of the effort mirrored a physical expansion. Brooks noted that the project involved multiple workstreams, including platform integration, geofencing, system upgrades, and several rounds of testing. “We had weeks where 25 people in the room were just going through testing,” he said. “It was as hard as a physical property.”
Where the difference becomes more apparent is in how the product is introduced to the market. Unlike a physical property, which builds awareness over time, a digital product launches all at once.
“Nobody knows what’s really happening until we launch it,” Thompson said.
That dynamic changes how marketing and player education are approached, particularly in a market where gray market alternatives already exist. Rather than treating the app like a traditional igaming rollout, the team positioned it as an extension of the business. Brooks described it as “another property,” integrated into existing operations rather than treated as a separate vertical.
That decision shaped how performance is evaluated.
The panel highlighted that player behavior on mobile differs significantly from what operators see on the floor. Thompson pointed to shorter, more frequent sessions. “It’s minutes,” he said, describing a pattern that aligns more closely with broader mobile behavior than traditional casino play.
At the same time, adoption didn’t follow expected patterns. Some of the most frequent in-property players were initially hesitant. As Thompson described it, some felt the product was “a little too convenient,” which introduced a different set of considerations around engagement.
From a revenue standpoint, the early results were clear. The product is generating meaningful revenue, while being absorbed into existing operations. Brooks noted that the app is “outperforming some of our smaller properties,” without requiring dedicated labor. That creates a different economic profile and reinforces the role of mobile within a broader omnichannel strategy.
The panel also addressed the advantages and trade-offs of being first to market. Without direct competition, the team has been able to establish a baseline and test different approaches without competing acquisition pressure. At the same time, the lack of benchmarks requires building expertise in real time.
As Sagman put it, “This is real.”
For operators evaluating their approach, the takeaway is clear. Class II mobile is operational, it is generating revenue, and it introduces a new layer to how players engage with a brand before and beyond the property.
