As the Tribal gaming sector congregates once more in the Golden State, is it too cliché of me to suggest we are heading for a golden era of Tribal gaming? With the industry set to meet at the Indian Gaming Association tradeshow in Anaheim – a show we’ve produced an in-depth preview of in this issue – it is perhaps even fairer to suggest Tribal’s golden era is already here.
Indian gaming revenue totaled $40.9bn for 2022 (the most recent year for which there are figures available) and that is only expected to grow. For 2023, meanwhile, the American Gaming Association recorded figures of $66.5bn for commercial gaming revenue, projecting $110bn in total for the year (including projected Tribal tallies).
So we can clearly see that Tribal gaming accounts for a huge piece of the US gaming pie. But, crucially, that is without the sector necessarily having fully yet embraced sports betting. And certainly without having embraced online gaming.
Just imagine how much bigger that total number could be with the addition of both? Are we talking $60bn a year… are we talking $80bn?
It is a key time for Tribes as they welcome greater technological and digital aptitude, demonstrated most recently by the launch of Hard Rock Games and Anaxi’s partnership with the Chickasaw Nation – just two examples. And the same can be said of the Seminole Tribe/Hard Rock in Florida, where – barring legal opposition that has been described as simply “burning money” by one of our interviewees in a previous edition of Gaming America magazine – sports betting is a go for the Tribal operator.
As such, our cover theme for March/April is focusing on the ‘Tribal Outlook.’ We’re doing things a little differently, with not one main feature but several – starting with a look at the touching relationship between the Choctaw Nation and Ireland. Following that, we have an in-depth interview with Hard Rock VP of Global Social Responsibility Paul Pellizzari on a topic that cannot be underplayed. Indeed, we speak with the Hard Rock exec about human trafficking, the threats it poses – especially at big casino resorts – and how to potentially combat it.
Concluding our main section is a Tribal special of our regular Viewpoints feature, where the Mohegan Tribe, the Potawatomi Casino Hotel, OPTX and Oddsworks present their thoughts on the hot Tribal topics: mobile, sports betting, technology – and how all three might be shifting the Tribal-commercial balance within US gaming.
Plenty of food for thought, then.
