How US Tribal Casinos Are Entering the Digital Space
Today, more tribal casinos in the US are entering the lucrative but highly competitive world of online gambling. With retail casino expansion in states like Michigan in the 1980s, many First Nation tribes started showing an interest in opening casinos. In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tribal nations had the undisputed right to operate casinos on their sovereign lands. Since then, tribal casinos have become an important part of reservation economies.
Passing of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
In 1988, US Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The National Indian Gaming Commission was established and continues to play a role in the expansion of tribal-owned casinos.
Since the passage of IGRA, many innovations have taken place in tribal gaming. One of the biggest innovations has been the rise of online gaming. Several land-based tribal casinos now also operate online casinos. For example, Play Gun Lake Casino is the online arm of Gun Lake Casino. It has partnerships with a number of leading online game developers to offer a variety of online games.
Challenges to online casinos
The IGRA Act outlines steps for tribal nations to operate land-based casinos. However, it doesn’t spell out the steps for operating online casinos. Tribal-owned casinos that have legal compacts with state governments must renegotiate them to include online casinos.
This can be tricky, especially when states already have commercial online casinos they want to protect. There have been some court cases between tribal casinos and states. Because of regulations of IGRA, UIGEA, and the Wire Act, tribal casinos can’t easily participate in online gaming. None of these regulations offer exceptions to the other.
Another challenge to tribal casinos is the growth of cyber threats. In 2023, attacks against tribes were up by about 60%. Tribes need to report what happened in a cyber-attack, identify gaps, and try to prevent them in the future. It is important for them to use technology like AI to combat attacks driven by AI.
Record gaming revenues
The shareholders in tribal casinos are tribal members. The casino operators do their best to ensure that the investments they make offer long-term returns. The National Indian Gaming Commission reported that tribal gaming hit record revenues of nearly $42 billion in 2023. The organization says this is proof of a strong regulatory framework and diverse tribal gaming operations.
Tribal leadership and operators consistently show their ability to adapt and innovate. They are willing to embrace technology and adapt to consumer preferences. Tribal casinos are some of the main generators of revenue in several states in the U.S.
The use of technology
Tribal Nations have been at the forefront of embracing technology to help them deliver the best online gaming platforms. The Seminole Tribe of Florida had to win some legal battles along the way. It was important to master new technologies to overcome some regulatory challenges.
Casinos were among the first to use electronic table games. They were pioneers in adopting business intelligence and AI. The absence of large corporate structures can help tribes quickly move to new technologies.
Tribal casinos need to use various data solutions. Technology giant Microsoft partnered with a gaming technology firm called Kinectify to develop data storage specifically for tribal gaming operators. The partnership has produced Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty. This offers more control over what data is shared and where it is shared.
Digital transformation
As more states legalize online casinos and sports betting, tribal nations are also grabbing the opportunity to do so. Digital transformation growth can be attributed to the growing adoption of advanced technologies such as business intelligence, AI, big data analytics, and cloud. Operators across the gambling industry are examining alternatives to cash such as digital wallets. Business intelligence for marketing purposes has been another great growth area. It simplifies the use of data and the ability to provide actionable alerts in real-time.
