With cyber hacking on the rise and casinos adopting cashless gaming and sports betting in bigger numbers, tribal-gaming leaders are urging Indian Country to seek guidance on those issues at the 22nd annual TribalNet Conference & Tradeshow in Dallas early next month.
The conference, scheduled for Nov. 8 through 11 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in suburban Dallas, will include a number of educational sessions on cashless, room, and touchless technology, gaming and hospitality during the pandemic, human-resource challenges, and preparing for sports betting and online gaming. The conference is put on by TribalHub, an organization that brings tribes and resources together.
TribalNet tends to attract information-technology experts in tribal-gaming and non-gaming operations, but staff up and down the line is encouraged to attend, as technology touches every decision that tribes make.
“It’s beneficial for non-IT people to go there, so you can better direct your IT team and better understand what your IT is trying to create,” said Steve Neely, general manager of the Rolling Hills Casino in Northern California and TribalHub board member. “I would not consider myself to be an IT person, but I’m excited to be a part of this show, because IT has become the backbone of pretty much everything we do now. The more I can do to educate myself on how to make it better, the return is huge for us.”
Fellow board member Dawn McGrady, CFO of Little River Casino Resort in Grand Rapids, Mich., said that nowadays, everyone from the financial team to the other executives has been so much more engaged with IT, especially since the tech experts are attending every meeting.
McGrady said there’s a lot of interest in cashless and contactless technology, and feedback is invaluable before buying and implementing it.
“I’m excited to attend to be able to talk technology we’re exploring from a user’s perspective,” McGrady said. “Some tribes already have this technology implemented, and we can go to the conference and get real feedback from existing users of this technology.”
Neely agreed, adding that when you gather a group of people with common interests, a lot of good happens. There’s plenty of innovation happening in tribal gaming and many of the people at the center of it will be attending. It’s not only the educational sessions that are important.
“Relationships are built with other attendees, so the education and innovation continue long after the conference,” Neely said.
“Some of these other tribes have already implemented it so getting that feedback helps us down the road,” McGrady said.
Among the more than 120 vendors at the trade show, the same as in past years, will be a lot of cyber-security and gaming and hospitality vendors, along with traditional attendees from companies like Microsoft and IBM.
Neely said tribes are struggling to fill staff positions in key areas. One way to deal with that is to get more efficient. A lot of technology that’s just coming out could help and they want to see it.
Shannon Bouschor, TribalHub’s director of operations, said a new workforce track will speak to the challenges of hiring due to COVID.
“There are concerns about recruiting and maintaining talent and what can be automated due to a lack of employees,” Bouschor said. “There’s a lot of discussion on the remote workforce and how to make that secure.”
Neely said there will also be a lot of interest in sports betting, as more tribes look to implement it. The topic of sports betting expansion dominated the discussion at the Global Gaming Expo, he said.
“Everyone you can talk to and learn about and help put your plan together is very valuable,” Neely said. “I anticipate this will be another one of those opportunities.”
As for cyber security, McGrady said several topics on the agenda address that. There’s no better place to learn than to attend this conference and have those IT staff who deal with that issue and have experienced the problem first-hand, he said. “They will share their stories and what to watch for and what to be prepared for,”
Cyber security is “a huge concern” for Indian Country, given the growing number of cyber hacks reported since January 2020. Several have shut down tribal casinos for days. Some have had casino and customer data held for ransom. TribalHub hosted a virtual summit on cyber security in September.
“We spent a lot of money last year trying to avoid it, but also to be protected if it were to happen to us,” Neely said. “I think it’s obvious that casinos are an area of great interest with these groups. We have to prepare for the inevitable, but also fight to avoid the inevitable.”
To register for the event go to tribalnetconference.com
