Tribes need to get ready to offer online sports betting and igaming beyond their reservations in the wake of the U.S. Department of Interior updating its rules that allow states to agree to deals with tribes.
The ruling that allowed the Seminole Tribe in Florida to negotiate a compact with the state has been challenged by rivals in the courts. It created a monopoly as part of a hub-and-spoke model, with bets placed off tribal lands, but routed through servers of the tribe.
“Important changes are coming,” said Thomas Castleberry, vice president of online gaming for Anaxi. His comments were echoed by Jonathan Doubilet, vice president of business operations for Playtech.
During a panel discussion on mobile Class II gaming, speakers said tribes should be preparing themselves now for a future that’s coming, rather than sit back and leave open an opportunity for commercial operators.
“This should be one of the most important initiatives for our tribal partners,” Castleberry said. “When you look at the number of legal online-gaming states today, six going on seven, you also have 29 approved sports-betting states and more than two dozen governors trying to expand gaming in their markets from a budget-addressing standpoint. This gives tribes an opportunity to build a foundation.”
The platform used for mobile on-premises for Class II is similar to the technology being used in igaming worldwide, Castleberry said.
“It gives you the building blocks for getting ready for igaming, because it’s inevitable. This gives tribes a chance to get a foot in the door to build expertise, customer base, and user acquisition. When Class III mobile gets approved within a jurisdiction, you’ll be miles ahead of any commercial competitor that may come into your market. This should be on your radar from a product-strategy standpoint.”
Richard Sagman, senior vice president of product development with Everi, urged preparation by training staff, testing, and seeing what promotions players will respond to. Well before igaming comes to their states, tribes should know what their players like and what incentives are needed to beat any providers coming in and spending a lot of money to attract customers.
“If you already have the customers in your database and link them offline with online, you’ll be in a much better position than starting from scratch,” Sagman said.
Doubilet said they’re seeing trends in Michigan with tribes, having learned the ropes from their commercial partners, are now handling operations on their own.
“In certain cases, it’s great to partner with a commercial entity, but in other cases, you can do your own with the right suppliers,” Doubilet said. “The crucible of power is swinging in the tribes’ favor when it comes to igaming in many states, especially those with sizable populations. You’re at the forefront of gaming in your state as it is and you’ll continue to be, as we’ve seen demonstrated when it comes to getting bills passed. I tell my board frequently that we can’t underestimate how much tribal gaming is the future of igaming in the U.S. Capitalize on that now.”
Valerie Spicer, chief gaming officer with Vetnos, said tribes are contemplating their options and coming at it in different ways, so operators need to be ready as well. Tribes have different providers, loyalty programs, and CMS systems for trying to launch mobile on premises.
“For any provider, the challenge is to be flexible and realize you need to seamlessly integrate with whatever they’re trying to launch for their property. Provide expertise where warranted, but also listen to what they’re trying to achieve,” Spicer said. “To me, it’s being flexible. At the end of the scenario, it’s the tribe’s app and brand. We’re the engine, backdrop, and content. If you use a different wallet, because you want it seamless and to have everything in one place, we need to adapt and be accommodating. That’s a challenge, but that’s what it’s going to take, because everybody is going to come at it in a different way.”
