Since the start of 2022, the U.S. gaming industry has experienced a revitalization of epic proportions, posting record revenues despite constant fears related to lingering pandemic impacts and economic uncertainty.
Much of the conversation, however, has revolved around big-name commercial operators and bookmakers, and while they have certainly experienced growth, they’ve also made some headline-grabbing mistakes, and one cannot tell the full story of this record-breaking resurgence without admiring the steady role that tribal gaming has played in that success.
Indeed, it’s hard to detail all of the victories that tribal operators have enjoyed in the last 15 or so months, but they encompass nearly all aspects of U.S. gaming, from land-based casinos to sports betting and everything in between.
Perhaps the most notable example came from California this past November, when commercial bookmakers flamed out in epic fashion, setting hundreds of millions on fire in a brazen attempt to disrupt what has long been the biggest tribal market in the U.S. The extremely public defeat of Prop 27 was easily the biggest reminder in recent memory that tribal gaming is a force to be reckoned with, both now and in the future.
And not even six months later, those same sentiments were echoed in Washington state, when U.S. District Court Judge David Estudillo quickly dismissed Maverick Gaming’s lawsuit that challenged the tribal monopoly on sports betting in the market.
The comments given by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson after the ruling were, I believe, extremely indicative of what regulators and patrons all over the country are starting to realize, and that is that tribal outfits are incredibly well-run organizations whose track records are becoming increasingly more impressive, especially as commercial operators continue to fall over themselves in a scramble to expand everywhere, at any cost.
Ferguson called the ruling “a significant victory for tribal sovereignty,” and noted that “Washington law strikes the right balance by permitting sports betting and confining it to tribal casinos, where tribes have experience carefully regulating gambling where individuals must be physically present.”
Such endorsements are almost impossible to find in today’s industry, and although Maverick and most of the larger commercial bookmakers have vowed to continue their respective quests, their initial losses were sizeable, and may serve as a boon for other battles, such as the legal gridlock that is currently preventing the Seminole Tribe from launching sports betting in Florida, another tribal hotspot.
Earlier this month, the American Gaming Association celebrated the fact that commercial gaming revenues surpassed $60 billion in 2022, which represented a new record for the U.S. Tribal revenues were notably absent from that report, but as CNIGA Chairman James Siva said during a presentation at the recent ICE London conference, the tribal market “now represents 44 percent of the total gaming market in the U.S.”
I’m no mathematician, but based on that percentage, one can deduce that tribal operators brought in at least $40 billion last year. The number itself is eye-popping, but what makes it even more impressive is that it came quietly—no scandals, no regulatory gruff and no controversy.
That goodwill is now starting to pay off in a big way, especially as tribes look to expand into new markets. Take Las Vegas for example—the once-impenetrable commercial mecca now has a multitude of tribal developments, from the San Manuel Band’s new-look Palms to the Seminoles’ takeover of the Mirage via Hard Rock International. Both examples were welcomed with open arms by Nevada regulators, who are notoriously scrupulous and hard to impress.
So, as we enter the newest phase of tribal gaming, one defined by full-scale integrated resorts, international investments and tens of billions in revenues, it’s important to remember that no matter how big and flashy tribal operators may become, their insistence on doing things the right way is and always has been the catalyst behind their unprecedented growth.
Our goal for this year’s edition of Tribal Government Gaming is to shed some light on the latest and greatest innovations that tribal gaming has to offer, while also highlighting the figures most responsible for setting that impressive standard. And if the sector continues its current trajectory, it’s hard to imagine we’ll be saying anything different come next year and beyond.
