Tribal
gaming has taken hits along with the rest of the gaming industry, but it has
weathered the storm better than the commercial sector, while maintaining its
future investment commitments to business and community, said Knute Knudson,
vice president at IGT.
“Tribal
gaming has consistently held its own, better than commercial gaming,” said
Knudson. “The locals-oriented nature of their locations meant that customers
didn’t have to get in an airplane to visit. Replacement cycles have generally
been marginally better. There are obvious exceptions, but markets like
California, Arizona and the west coast have held their own. Tribal gaming has
also expanded; older properties have evolved and upgraded. You also have new
compacts being approved; at least three in California pending currently, for
instance. Indian country remains a dynamic, growing place. It’s not like the
early days, but the footprint continues to grow, and it’s a market that remains
willing to experiment with products and be on the leading edge of new product
adaptation.”
Knudson
said that tribes have “overwhelmingly” made good investment decisions. “There
are some exceptions and some properties that had the misfortune of opening
during the downturn, but most, by and large, have made good investments and
haven’t exceeded the capability of their organizations to sustain debt,” he
said. “They have reserved capital to expand while at the same time meeting
their tribal needs and reinvesting back into their communities. They haven’t
lost sight of the fact that tribal gaming is about serving governments and taking
care of people on and off the reservation.”
Knudson
called social gaming, which IGT serves through its DoubleDown Casino Partner
Program, the fastest growing segment of the interactive space. About half of
the 40 customers that have signed on to the program are in the tribal sector,
including Casino del Sol in Arizona, the first DoubleDown partner in the
country and a “premier” operator in terms of how it is leveraging the
technology.
“Double
Down has met all the metrics that we expected. In fact, our revenue per
customer, the total number of customer visits per day, and the total number of
customer visits per month are all growing beyond our expectations,” said
Knudson. “Many of these tribal customers are in locations that are not close to
urban areas. So the Internet helps them market beyond their immediate
geographic area. It gives them a window to attract customers in the larger,
interactive space and to market to their specific brick-and-mortar space. The acceptance of Double Down in Indian country
has been excellent; we are doing multiple presentations at the trade show.”
IGT's Knudson gives tribes high post-recession marks
March 26, 2013
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