Interblock CEO: Staying committed with Tribes

What has Interblock’s experience been like working with Tribal properties and how will the recent partnership with Eclipse Gaming help progress this relationship?

Obviously, the Tribal community continues to grow on an annual basis in terms of North American casino market percentage. I think most people don’t appreciate how large and influential the Tribal casino market is. We spent a lot of time, especially with the IGA conference upcoming, focusing on that and particularly on products designed for various-sized casinos within that sector.

There are casinos that are tremendously large in size, whether in Florida, Oklahoma, California, Washington or other major travel markets, and then there are obviously some that are significantly smaller. So the relationship with Eclipsein the Class II world helps us really fill a demand that the Tribal community has been asking for, relative to table games and electronic table games (ETGs), for decades now. There have been Class II slot products within these casinos that provide Tribes an economic benefit from a tax perspective.

They’ve been unable to derive that from ETGs until now, so through the acquisition of Zuum, which provided us with an immediate product category conducive for Class II markets, and now through the relationship with Eclipse and their backend technology, we’re coming to market within the next 60 days with the first of many ETG products. The first being roulette, followed by craps and then blackjack, so all of these should be released into the market somewhere between March and June of 2025, so a very exciting time.

In the partnership announcement with Eclipse, it was also stated that Interblock would be applying for CNIGA Associate Membership. How would this help establish a greater relationship between Interblock and Tribes in California?

I believe that relationship just continues to evolve. California is one of the more challenging markets for ETGs due to historical compacts that are also starting to work their way through Washington State, which serves as another example of a market evolving to allow ETGs in a traditional sense. As the compacts and certain Tribal jurisdictions continue to evolve and as they negotiate with states, we are increasing our presence and supporting those Tribes in doing so.

How can events such as the upcoming IGA conference help Interblock expand its Tribal portfolio?

The IGA conference is fantastic; I can’t even remember how long we’ve been going for, but it’s just a great opportunity to really concentrate on the Tribal community and their needs. We can also ensure that, in a matter of two or three days, we get a great view nationally on whether our products are fulfilling the needs of the Tribes and what they are looking for.

A couple of years ago, one of the key talking points was Class II products, whether it something we were considering or something we were looking into. Now, two years later, here we are launching that product at the show. Myself and my team use it as an incredible opportunity to get feedback from the Tribal community on what they’re looking for, where they’re progressing and to help dictate our product roadmap.

Are there any particular verticals you’re personally expecting to see significant growth in in 2025?

From an Interblock perspective, we see the HHR and Class II markets achieving significant growth in the first half to middle of 2025. Then, as we launch our online content, we foresee incredible growth in iGaming as well. The fourth category we are talkingabout right now is the Amuse category we launched at G2E. Those products will be hitting the market towards the end of Q2 and aggressively into Q3 right before the next G2E. In a more broader sense for the industry itself, let’s see if we get some more iGaming legislation passed.

After such a political change following the Presidential election, we may not get the dramatic approvals through state bodies we were hoping for as an industry. I think that will come more towards the middle of the next Presidential term, meaning 2026 or later.

Kirk Geller

Visit Profile

Players trust our reporting due to our commitment to unbiased and professional evaluations of the iGaming sector. We track hundreds of platforms and industry updates daily to ensure our news feed and leaderboards reflect the most recent market shifts. With nearly two decades of experience within iGaming, our team provides a wealth of expert knowledge. This long-standing expertise enables us to deliver thorough, reliable news and guidance to our readers.