Gaming America - Sept/Oct 2024

THE CEO SPECIAL

We speak with (top row, from left to right), Ray Pineault, Christopher Hebert, Laura Penney, (bottom row) Matt King, Paul Burns, Jennifer Shatley and Kresimir Spajic.

revealed a m ericas 20 2 4

OCTOBER 7, 12:30PM

THE

VENETIAN

LAS VEGAS

COO, EDITOR IN CHIEF

Julian Perry

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Tim Poole

STAFF WRITERS

Laura Mack, Kirk Geller, Beth Turner, Ciaran McLoughlin, Will Underwood

LEAD DESIGNER

Olesya Adamska

DESIGNERS

Claudia Astorino, Callum Flett, Gabriela Baleva

JUNIOR DESIGNER

Medina Mammadkhanova

ILLUSTRATOR

Judith Chan

MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGER

Mariya Savova

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT

Dhruvika Patel

PUBLISHING ASSISTANT

Abi Ockenden

IT MANAGER

Tom Powling

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR

Deepak Malkani Deepak@playerspublishing.com

Tel: +44 (0)207 729 6279

SENIOR U.S. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Aaron Harvey

Aaron.Harvey@playerspublishing.com

Tel: +1 702 425 7818

US BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Erica Clark

Erica.Clark@playerspublishing.com Tel: +1 702-355-0473

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

Michael Juqula

Michael.Juqula@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)203 487 0498

ACCOUNT MANAGERS

William Aderele

William.Aderele@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)207 739 2062

Irina Litvinova

Irina.Litvinova@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)207 613 5863

Serena Kwong

Serena.Kwong@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)203 435 5628

Max NGarry Max.Ngarry@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0) 207 7290643

AWARDS SPONSORSHIP MANAGER

Michelle Pugh

Michelle.Pugh@globalgamingawards.com Tel: +44 (0)207 360 7590

CREDIT MANAGER

Rachel Voit

WITH THANKS TO:

Kresimir Spajic, Laura Penney, Jennifer Shatley, Paul Burns, Chris Hebert, Ray Pineault, Matt King, John Connelly, Tim Minard, Brooke Fiumara, Mike Dreitzer, Chad Hoehne, Rickard Vickström, Oliver Lovat, Shimon Akad, Marija Hammon, Jacob Claesson, David Bolas, Leighton Webb, Max Portelli, Gaming Arts, Crane Payment Innovations and Aruze Gaming Global.

Gaming America magazine

ISSN 2632-766X

Produced and published by

EDITOR’S LETTER

This time of year is truly an honor and a pleasure for the Gaming America team, as we get to deep-dive into the lives and careers of leaders across the industry in our CEO Special. CEOs, Presidents and Chairs qualify for the issue and, this time around, we have our own ‘magnificent seven.’

Representing Tribal operators are Mohegan President & CEO Ray Pineault, and Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort CEO Laura Penney (who has been at the property for over 30 years!). On the commercial – and digitally led side – we have Fanatics Betting & Gaming CEO Matt King and Betfred USA CEO Kresimir Spajic. Representing Canada, an ever-growing part of North American gaming, we feature Canadian Gaming Association President & CEO Paul Burns, while Jennifer Shatley joins us as the leader of the Responsible Online Gaming Association back in the US.

Last on my list, but purely for the reason of being singled out especially, is Christopher Hebert, the first-ever African American Chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board – and a delightful interviewee who gave us so much insight into both his personal and professional life. We always strive to get the 360-degree angle at Gaming America, and we feel having the regulator’s point of view in another CEO Special has helped us achieve exactly that.

Elsewhere in the edition, our ‘regular’ editorial does its best not to be upstaged by our feature-length CEO interviews. Regular contributor Oliver Lovat discusses the fate of the Las Vegas megaresort, while Internet Vikings Co-Founder Rickard Vikström is adamant that European firms can succeed in the US.

To all those at G2E (and reading this in one of our thousands of copies at the show), we wish you the best of luck weaving between all the many different possibilities the Venetian Convention Center and its tradeshow floor has to offer.

The US is interestingly balanced right now, to say the least, with European firms exiting and big-named land-based suppliers upping their strategic game in the face of increasing competition. We believe the best way to face this challenge head on is by reading, listening and learning.

That’s why this magazine offers as wide a range of opinions and stories as any issue we’ve ever produced. Agree or disagree with any of it, we hope you’re able to take stock of it all – because there is plenty to be applied to the everyday gaming industry here.

JULIAN PERRY, COO, Editor-in-Chief

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GAMING AMERICA | CONTENTS

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FROM THE TOP: GAMING’S OWN INDEPENDENCE DAY

After Musburger Media bought VSiN back from DraftKings – in the same light as Barstool’s split from Penn Entertainment – one industry lesson became very clear.

GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS

We bring you the Executive of the Year category Shortlist for this year’s Global Gaming Awards Americas.

MEETING NEW STANDARDS

STAYING ON TRACK

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Interblock CEO John Connelly discusses the growing sophistication of consumers, preparing for the future and "leapfrogging technology."

Eclipse Gaming CEO Tim Minard explores the new technology his company will be displaying at G2E.

ADAPT AND ENHANCE

More on G2E, as Brooke Fiumara, OPTX Co-Founder and Co-CEO, explains the new ideas and products set to be displayed at the show.

22 BOTH HOME AND AWAY

Gaming Arts CEO Mike Dreitzer speaks to Gaming America about moving into the LatAm and European markets, while also releasing new products in the US.

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MERGING REWARDS

CasinoTrac President and CEO Chad Hoehne takes Gaming America through the company’s newest product.

NO TIME FOR EXCUSES

Internet Vikings Founder Rickard Vikström speaks to Tim Poole about entering the US market.

STICK, TWIST OR DOUBLE DOWN?

Gaming America regular columnist and resident Las Vegas expert, Oliver Lovat, discusses the challenges facing Vegas’ 1990s megaresorts in the 2020s.

RISING STAR VS BELTERRA

Which Hoosier riverboat casino will emerge victorious? Gaming America’s Laura Mack has the scoop!

THE CEO SPECIAL: RAY PINEAULT

The Mohegan President and CEO speaks about finding his work/life balance, the development of Tribal gaming during his 24 years with Mohegan and what it means to bring the spirit of Mohegan to business.

CHRISTOPHER HEBERT

The Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board speaks with Gaming America about growing up in Louisiana, working with the state’s licensees – and inspiring others with his journey.

22 Mike Dreitzer

20 Brooke Fiumara

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LAURA PENNEY

The Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort CEO walks Gaming America through her journey of over 30 years at the Tribal property, always striving and persevering to become CEO – even after several setbacks.

58 MATT KING

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The story behind how Fanatics Betting and Gaming CEO Matt King rose from a non-sports upbringing to overseeing one of the fastestgrowing sportsbooks in the US.

PAUL BURNS

Paul Burns discusses how his early passion for politics led him to Las Vegas, as well as the challenges – and privileges – of being the voice of the Canadian gaming industry.

JENNIFER SHATLEY

The Executive Director of the Responsible Online Gaming Association and President of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling speaks to Gaming America about a career of firsts.

KRESIMIR SPAJIC

Kresimir Spajic has worked in education, fashion and even been a professional soccer player. Within gaming, that variance has continued. The Betfred USA CEO tells Gaming America his story.

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CATERING FOR ALL

Playtech COO Shimon Akad talks Canada, MGM live casino and more.

ENTERING THE US: A DIFFERENT BEAST

The RLX Gaming team writes from its own POV, with analysis from Marketing Director Marija Hammon.

ADAPTING TO APPEAL

Gaming America speaks with Evolution's CEO for North America, Jacob Claesson, about supplying live casino in the US.

88 MARKET FOCUS: CANADA

David Bolas, Commercial Director at Greentube, speaks with Gaming America about all things Canadian gaming.

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A NEW OPPORTUNITY

VP and GM of iGaming and Sports Betting at PayNearMe, Leighton Webb, takes Gaming America through all things sweepstakes gaming payments.

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A ‘MEGA’ YEAR

Soft2Bet CFO Max Portelli reflects on what has been – and what is to come.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

Once again, Gaming America looks through what’s new on the casino floor.

82 Shimon Akad

84 Marija Hammon

GAMING AMERICA | FROM THE TOP

GAMING’S OWN INDEPENDENCE DAY

After Musburger Media bought VSiN back from DraftKings –in the same light as Barstool’s split from Penn Entertainment –one industry lesson became very clear, Tim Poole writes in our latest From The Top column.

Affiliate and media brands make more money independently than they do when owned by a single operator. It sounds so obvious – yet it took some high-profile deals for the gaming industry to figure this out.

This is not a criticism; it is an observation. Given the amount of emphasis the sports betting sector is currently placing on convergence – ESPN Bet’s big-money deal with Penn Entertainment leads the way, while LiveScore Group is following a similar route away from the US – it made sense for operators to explore owning as much of their own content as possible. FanDuel still runs FanDuel TV, and seemingly without any problems. Elsewhere, though, there is now a growing list of examples one could point to that suggest an operator-media combination is not the ideal outcome.

Kresimir Spajic, Betfred US CEO, speaks to me about this as part of his CEO Special interview later in this issue. He believes sports betting media convergence is not

working out as the industry had first hoped. And he is not alone in sharing this opinion. While Penn is trying again with ESPN, its original deal with Barstool Sports went down in history for all the wrong reasons. Having spent $551m in total to acquire the sports media brand, Penn famously sold it back to Founder Dave Portnoy for just $1 last year – creating plenty of doubters when it comes to the effectiveness of this type of deal.

But what has happened since for Barstool? Immediately, it was able to sign a major affiliate deal with DraftKings –and it is now free to work with any and all operators, not just one. Let’s face it – that is a far better proposition for any affiliate or media brand, no matter how many resources an operator might back them with post-acquisition.

THE VSIN LESSON

What’s really worth noting, however, is that DraftKings proves this lesson the

other way around, too. While the brand became Barstool’s born-again hero after its Penn split, DraftKings proved to be the exact opposite for VSiN, the Sports Betting Network, the brand it bought in March 2021 but sold back to original founder Musburger Media this July. All appears amicable between DraftKings and the sports betting media network, as Co-Founder Brian Musburger told me exclusively on the Huddle once the deal was announced. And yet he was very honest in saying a media company simply functions better when it is independent.

VSiN is quite a unique company within the gaming space. It offers a traditional form of media in that it runs a 24/7 stream – and it’s all about sports betting. Over the years, it has developed a reputation as a source of education for bettors, but also as a hub of discussion for the more informed players. In other words, bettors who know the difference between a money line and a spread,

GAMING AMERICA | FROM THE TOP

and are looking for bets with an edge –perhaps even a positive expected value. Crucially, after its buy-back, VSiN can still work with DraftKings. But it can work with everyone else, too. Another point it is important not to understate is that independent content is better received by readers. So it becomes a case of better-quality content. If one network ruthlessly promotes a single brand, it isn’t really giving viewers the full picture – and they will ultimately recognize this and fall away. As stated, VSiN caters to sharp bettors as well as newcomers to the game. DraftKings, by contrast, has a lot more interest in the casual bettor.

Considering that formula, a split becomes in the best interests of both the affiliate or media brand and the operator. Why should an operator continue to plough resources into a content division that would give it better results as an independent, external partner?

NO HARM IN TRYING

As I said at the start, the theory behind this sounds obvious. But that’s hindsight. DraftKings, in particular, certainly shouldn’t regret this somewhat failed experiment. It

learned a valuable lesson, showing the rest of us the evidence along the way. There is, naturally, more on the line for Penn – as it has doubled down on this same formula of conjoining betting and media. The results here will determine a huge amount, and ultimate failure will probably put the nail in the coffin of any high-scale cooperation between a sportsbook and a media channel.

Yet, for now, even though we’re well past the Fourth of July, gaming can celebrate its own version of Independence Day. At Gaming America, it gives our beliefs a little vindication, too. We feel independent and objective analysis attracts readership – and business leads – far better than shouting about one particular brand or product. Demonstrating expertise is the single best way of showing your customers they need you. In sports betting, the VSiN example looks like a rather concrete example of this.

Of course, that is not to totally dismiss the idea of convergence. The consumption of sports as a whole is transforming, particularly in the US as fans stick by their preferred individual athletes regardless of what team they play for (and consume content mainly via highlights packages and

social media engagement). Where betting falls into this picture remains a question mark, and we are seeing a number of different firms try to answer this question with varying methodologies.

OPERATORS BENEFIT FROM MEDIA INDEPENDENCE TOO

What we can conclude, however, is that buying media brands that are famous for a certain independence and cutting-edge style doesn’t work for operators. This may be a devil-may-care attitude (Barstool), or a dedication to objectivity and serving the educated bettor (VSiN). In this equation, the media brand starts to produce a lower quality of content, generating a lower level of turnover, thus making it a poorer investment for the operator. As independent outlets, Barstool and VSiN can do far more – and thereby result in far more traffic to the likes of Penn and DraftKings. In short, taking a smaller share of a larger pie is going to make more than a 100% share of a tiny pie.

It’s been genuinely refreshing to see media brands take back ownership of their content, even if it’s not something every single media brand will end up doing. And it’s good to see gaming operators acknowledge that they don’t have to do everything themselves, too. At the end of the day, affiliates stay independent for a reason. If IMDB only ever told you to watch Ryan Reynolds films, movie-goers would quickly lose interest in IMDB as a credible source. If that same site told you Deadpool & Wolverine is an 8.5/10 worth watching, but that Inside Out 2 is still #1 in the 2024 Worldwide Box Office, you might decide to go and watch both movies.

Perhaps the most important part of this whole equation is that the consumer gets to decide. Because a bettor bombarded with one-sided branding will not be a bettor who truly wants to play with said firm. Presented with all the available information, the bettor that chooses to play with a sportsbook becomes a far more valuable customer – and, with the fine margins and high acquisition costs at play in the US, this can make all the difference.

GAMING AMERICA | GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS

THE EXECUTIVES

Lead Partner

We preview the nominees for the Executive of the Year category, at this year's Global Gaming Awards Americas, taking place in Las Vegas on Monday 7 October.

BROOKE FIUMARA, CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, OPTX

Leveraging her expertise in casino operations, marketing and tech, Fiumara has propelled OPTX to become an industry leader in Analytics and AI software for casinos. Under her leadership, OPTX launched three new products in 2023 and continues to upgrade its offering.

AMY HOWE, CEO, FANDUEL

Under Howe’s leadership in the past year, FanDuel extended its US lead with the largest player base of 3.5 million Average Monthly Players (as per Flutter’s Q2 report). Howe has spearheaded FanDuel to maintain its position as the nation’s #1 online sportsbook. Moreover, FanDuel also became the US’ number one iGaming brand.

ROBERT WILLENBORG, CEO, J&J VENTURES GAMING

Willenborg has overseen J&J Gaming’s growth to serve 3,600+ locations, making it the US’ largest revenue-producing terminal operator. He joined the American Gaming Association Board of Directors in 2023, becoming the first distributed gaming operator to hold a board member seat.

KENJI HALL, GENERAL MANAGER, YAAMAVA’ RESORT & CASINO AT SAN MANUEL

Hall leads the strategic execution and performance of daily gaming and hospitality operations at Yamaava’ Resort & Casino. Since taking over the General Manager role in June last year, he has scaled the property’s gaming offerings, making Yamaava’s casino the largest in the West with 7,200 slots, 11 world premieres and 14 first-to-market games in 2023.

ADAM GREENBLATT, CEO, BETMGM

Amid a tumultuous year for BetMGM’s parent companies, BetMGM CEO Greenblatt’s transparent and steady leadership solidified the online operator’s path to profitability and being self-funded. BetMGM demonstrated strong 2023 performance with net revenue growing 36% year-on-year to $1.96bn. Greenblatt differentiated BetMGM through innovative collaborations and several “first, best and only” offerings (i.e. partnership with X).

BRIAN CHRISTOPHER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, BC VENTURES

Christopher turned his love for entertaining into a career and is the original social media influencer for casino floor slots. His videos have collectively had over a billion views. An innovator in the industry, Christopher has a designated BCSlots section at Plaza in Downtown Las Vegas. He also co-created a slot machine with Gaming Arts (Brian Christopher’s Pop’N Pays More). He has now taken his experience of understanding slots and created BC Ventures.

GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS | GAMING AMERICA

JOHN CONNELLY, GLOBAL CEO, INTERBLOCK GAMING

Connelly is a proven leader, with over 30 years of experience in gaming and a distinguished track record of business development, innovation and M&A. Interblock’s strategic acquisition of Aruze’s ETG assets were a key achievement for Connelly this year.

KIM M. BARKER, EVP & CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER, BALLY’S CORPORATION

Since 2022, Barker has overseen Bally’s global legal, compliance and public affairs teams, supporting the operator’s global strategic initiatives. The depth and breadth of her legal expertise, especially in gaming and lottery, have been instrumental as Bally’s continues to evolve and pursue new projects. She is not just a legal expert in the gaming industry, she’s a trailblazer and a global DEI leader and advocate.

DANA JACKEL, VP COMMERCIAL & MANAGING DIRECTOR, US IGAMING, LIGHT & WONDER

Jackel is a driving force at Light & Wonder’s iGaming division. Her visionary approach to mobile transformation and expanding the company’s jackpot strategy has generated unprecedented growth and market dominance, propelling L&W to the forefront of iGaming. Her dedication to fostering a positive culture cultivates an environment of innovation and collaboration.

LEVIN, CEO, OPENBET

Levin’s leadership and profound industry insight have been instrumental in guiding OpenBet through a period of growth and success under the Endeavor network. His passion for innovation helped the company maintain its leading market position with 44% of all US bets made in legalized markets placed through the OpenBet platform.

MARY CHEEKS, PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER, JAMUL CASINO

With over six years as the President and General Manager at Jamul Casino, Cheeks has led the Tribal casino from strength to strength. In the last 12 months, a $515m expansion project to the casino’s luxury hotel began, yet the casino remained humble and true to its Tribal roots, with charitable donations to organizations in San Diego supporting causes including injured veterans and the LGBT community.

JENNIFER AGUIAR, CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER, DRAFTKINGS

Aguiar has been instrumental in DraftKings’ journey over the years, successfully navigating the operator through the emergence of daily fantasy sports and the state-by-state licensing and regulatory process. She is also one of the executives involved in the development of the DraftKings’ new RG tool, My Stat Sheet.

With almost 18 years of experience as the COO (and now CEO) of Eureka Casinos, Carrier has been with the Tribal operator since its inception. Adopting an employeeowned model, all Eureka Casinos belong completely to their staff, making it the only gaming company in the US adopting this model throughout. Carrier is also set to oversee a multi-year, $100m remodel and development of Eureka Casino Resort in Mesquite, Nevada.

ANDRE CARRIER, CEO, EUREKA CASINOS

JORDAN

GAMING AMERICA | GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS

DAVID HORN, VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, DURANGO CASINO & RESORT

Having worked across multiple departments, developing an expert-level understanding of casino operations, gaming analysis, player evaluation and team member development, Horn was tasked to oversee Station Casinos’ $780m project – Durango Casino & Resort. He now leads the day-to-day operations of the resort, which is off to a great start.

HEIDI

GRANT,

SENIOR EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF COMMERCE, CHOCTAW NATION

Grant provides strategic direction to a diverse leadership team in our everchanging competitive industry. In her 22+ years with Choctaw Nation, she has held various positions, and has overseen a number of casino renovations and construction projects for the Tribe, including the luxury expansion at Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant and the newly opened $238m Choctaw Landing in Hochatown.

KERRY HEMPHILL, SPORTS BETTING PRODUCTS MANAGER, OREGON LOTTERY

Having been part of the Oregon Lottery since 2008, now Product Manager of Sports Betting, Hemphill has played a significant part in leading the state’s sports betting market via the agency. In the last year, she has seen the Oregon Lottery integrate over 1,000 Light & Wonder video lottery terminals, receive top bond ratings from three nationally accredited agencies and more.

CHRIS HILL, CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER, ARISTOCRAT GAMING

Gaming is the most regulated industry on the planet and, as Chief Legal Officer, Hill leads Aristocrat’s global legal and compliance functions. Her duties are comprehensive, as the company is licensed in 300+ jurisdictions, operates in more than 90 countries, and offers a unique blend of products and services for Class II, Class III and online gaming. She also served as a Board Member for Global Gaming Women.

STEVEN SALZ, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, RIVALRY

In one month alone, Rivalry launched shareable bets and an Android app, while also hosting its own esports tournament in Ontario. The rapid pace of development at the esports betting operator has been spearheaded by Co-Founder and CEO Salz. Rivalry ppeals to the elusive Gen Z, with products including 1990’s-inspired iGaming platform Casino.exe.

RAY PINEAULT, PRESIDENT & CEO, MOHEGAN

Pineault has guided Mohegan through its development and launch of Mohegan INSPIRE in South Korea, and its highest recorded net revenue in its 27 years of operations at the end of 2023. In the past year, under his leadership, the Tribe has also significantly scaled its online business, opened a smoke-free lounge at Mohegan Pennsylvania and is one of several operators battling it out for a lucrative New York landbased casino license.

GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS | GAMING AMERICA

DIALLO GORDON, CEO, PASSPORT TECHNOLOGY

With over 25 years of experience within the gaming industry (including roles at Everi, Aristocrat and the Mississippi Gaming Commission), Gordon took on the role of CEO at Passport Technology at the start of this year. His entrepreneurial spirit and unparalleled industry knowledge are leading Passport into a new era of growth and reaffirming the company’s position as the fastest growing and leading innovator within casino payments, automation and loyalty.

ZOE EBLING, VP, INTERACTIVE, AGS

In just over a year with AGS, Ebling has transformed the company’s interactive business. Under her leadership, AGS has expanded its reach in the online vertical by entering new markets and increasing the number of titles it releases. She was one of the key executives involved in the crossplatform launch of Rakin’ Bacon Odyssey, which this February arrived in person at Caesars Atlantic City and online at Caesars Palace Online Casino in NJ.

PAUL PELLIZZARI, VP, GLOBAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, HARD ROCK

Pellizzari has been in charge of Hard Rock International’s social responsibility programs and initiatives since 2018, serving all of the business’ verticals –casinos, hotels and cafes. He leads three operational programs – PlayersEdge (HRI’s responsible gaming program), Save The Planet (HRI’s environmental sustainability program) and Hard Rock’s anti-human trafficking initiatives, which involve both operational programs and lots of public engagements.

BRIAN GULLBRANTS, COO-NORTH AMERICA, WYNN RESORTS

After serving as the President of Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, Gullbrants was promoted to COO-North America at the start of last year. In his current role, he is responsible for all operations in both Las Vegas and Boston, while supporting all of Wynn’s future developments in North America. At present, Wynn Las Vegas is on track to have its best year on record and a lot of it is thanks to Gullbrants’ leadership.

ERIC HESSION, PRESIDENT, CAESARS DIGITAL

Hession guided Caesars Digital to become EBITDA-profitable last year. Under his leadership, the operator launched Caesars Palace Online Casino, which has been a huge success and helped Caesars’ online casino set new quarterly records for active customers, volume, GGR and net gaming revenue in Q1 this year. He is also taking steps in accelerating Caesars Digital’s growth in the sports betting vertical with the recent acquisition of Australian trading technology company ZeroFlucs.

MAUREEN ADAMS, EVP OF GAMING OPERATIONS, CHURCHILL DOWNS INCORPORATED

With a career in gaming spanning more than 25 years, 11 with Churchill Downs, Adams has been one of the key executives driving CDI’s evolution and transformation we have witnessed in recent years. She oversees the operations of Churchill Downs’ gaming properties. With a keen aptitude for inspiring others to achieve their goals, she leads a team that plays an important role in the opening of new entertainment venues.

MEETING NEW STANDARDS

Interblock CEO John Connelly discusses the growing sophistication of consumers, preparing for the future and "leapfrogging technology."

How have the new developments at Interblock helped the company expand its reach within gaming?

I think when you have a piece of content that resonates in the traditional casino environment, we’ve learned over the years that that same content can also be distributed within other areas of the gaming sector successfully. At Interblock, we’ve been so inundated with our growth from a traditional casino perspective in the past 10 years that we’ve been somewhat limited in our ability to diversify outside of just core casinos. Now, we have the critical mass and scale necessary as well as, quite frankly, the capital needed to bring us to where we are now. Coming into this year’s G2E in Las Vegas, we will be taking the company into several new categories within the gaming sector worldwide.

Are consumers becoming more expectant of that innovation and enhancement?

The player dictates where the industry is going. Right now, I believe what we’re experiencing is the sophistication of the player base evolving rapidly due to the online space. Because of that, there’s a lot of new technology and enhancements within the sector that are providing players with alternatives and methods by which to play content we’ve not seen before. The level of innovation and the expectations of the player is no longer what it was even five years ago. Now, suppliers, including Interblock, have to work very diligently to make sure what we’re developing is applicable to where the industry is trending. If you don’t keep your eye on the ball, you can fall behind very quickly, now more than ever.

Do you expect to see more consolidation efforts around the gaming industry?

I think we’re going to continue to see

consolidation over the next 36 months at least; you can already see it now. There are more transactions and more companies on the market than we’ve seen in quite some time. Part of that ties back to your previous question: the industry is evolving quickly and if you’re unable to keep up, many companies want to sell before they become obsolete. It seems as if they believe they might as well sell while there’s still value left inside the organization. Perhaps someone would want to acquire them, because if they wait too long, it really could get to a point where it’s not even feasible for another company to acquire them.

That’s why you’re seeing the number of transactions currently going on, both on the supply and operator side of the business, because the market is just evolving so rapidly. Some people are getting caught off guard and they’re falling so far behind; they have no choice but to sell – and I don’t know if that will necessarily change anytime soon.

JOHN CONNELLY CEO Interblock

Did any of those recent transactions take you by surprise at all?

I’m surprised every day, but the ones that I’m more focused on are the ones that Interblock has done. I’ll announce another acquisition before G2E this year and another couple of companies along with that announcement. I’ll always be keeping an eye out for opportunities in that regard. On the supply side, some of the more notable ones lately were IGT’s acquisition of Everi, and on the operator side, you have MGM divesting itself from a few of its properties to reconstruct its approach as an operator and what it sees itself as in the future. I think more strategic decisions will be coming in the next few years, as operators and suppliers alike redefine where they want to be in the next chapter. Driving that is the fact that there’s an integration of the omnichannel discussion between the online space and the traditional gaming space. It’s impacting everybody, and people are trying to understand how to navigate that correctly.

Is there anything regarding the remainder of 2024 that we can look forward to from Interblock?

We always try to surprise the industry through innovation but, this year, we hope, will be one that the industry will take notice of at G2E 2024 especially. Our focus now is integrating the most recent acquisitions we’ve made and then introducing those to the global gaming sector, presenting the next generation of innovation at Interblock. I call it leapfrogging technology and I really think it’s going to take the industry to a whole new level when it thinks of ETGs. I can’t wait to hear the response.

STAYING ON TRACK

Eclipse Gaming CEO Tim Minard explores the new technology his company will be displaying at G2E – and how the supplier plans to continue its momentum heading into 2025.

Could you explain the new technologies Eclipse Gaming is currently working on?

We have a new cabinet coming out that is more advanced, especially where we’re coming from. That’s the premier technology and hardware platform we will be showing at G2E. It gives us the ability to add some features that really will accentuate our games and bring us to a different level.

Are these innovations following any trends you have seen in the industry, or possible sectors

Eclipse could branch into?

For us, it’s about expanding the momentum we have going on now. We’ve had a really good couple of years and are looking to continue on that track. It’s about growing our footprints inside the locations we are currently in.

What kind of momentum has Eclipse Gaming been building these past couple of years, as you mention?

Eclipse focuses primarily on Class II Tribal, and we’ve set out on a journey to continually expand our footprint both inside the casinos and geographywise. Over the last two or three years we’ve met those marks, expanded into many states and are developing specific content for those properties. Being smaller, we’ve had the opportunity to get to know our customers and our customers’ customers better, so it gave us the ability to customize our content.

We focused a lot on data analytics, things that will help us drive our content for specific markets. We’ve done extraordinarily well in smaller markets

where we can have that relationship and get to know these customers better. Now, it's all about using what we’ve learned.

Is being a smaller company part of the Eclipse brand? Or are you hoping that this expansion will allow the company to be seen in the same standing as a “bigger” company per se?

I think it would be a fool’s folly not to want to be bigger. My big thing is discipline and focus. We have a lot of room to grow in the Tribal market and in Class II. We’ve done a great job at making that a solid niche for us. That, in and of itself, gives us the ability to be a lot bigger than we are today. We have the trajectory to get there, and we will bring other markets into the fold over time. However, there’s no real reason for us to prematurely strive for that.

Eclipse is a profitable company that continuously grows our footprint and continually grows our team. We’re on the

trajectory to become bigger, to be in the conversation with some of our competition.

How will G2E act as a showcase for your upcoming products and Eclipse's recent progress?

Our booth continues to expand in how we showcase, how we’ve grown and who we are both on product and culturally. We announced a partnership with Interblock last year that was anticipatory for this year, and we’re hitting full strides on that. It’s proven to be a great partnership and strategic relationship. You’ll also be able to see our new cabinet and new content. We will continually showcase our coin pusher, which is a great feature inside the games and so forth.

We’re looking to showcase what has made us successful to date and some insights into what’s coming out in 2025, including some hints at how big the new year will be for Eclipse.

Is there anything you can speak on regarding those upcoming plans for 2025?

TIM MINARD CEO Gaming Eclipse

There are several principles and pillars we’re focused on, and we're just relentlessly pursuing those things because they got us where we are. Great content, intimacy with our customers and our customers’ customers to learn what is good content for those markets. Then, you’ll see a higher volume of that content because we’re expanding our company. We’re expanding our employee base and you’ll see the relationship with Interblock fully come to fruition. We always keep our eyes open to any other ancillary opportunities we’ve had; but it’s really those things that will keep us on track.

ADAPT AND ENHANCE

Brooke

Fiumara , OPTX Co-Founder and Co-CEO,

explains the new ideas and products set to be displayed at G2E 2024.

Why is the ability to adapt so key in the gaming industry and how does OPTX aim to utilize this?

The ability to adapt is important in the sense that our business is constantly evolving. It’s constantly changing and there continue to be new sets of data to analyze. In general, as in outside of the gaming market itself, consumers expect more tools and personalized experiences. OPTX helps operators adapt to the changing environment through the use of AI modeling, to create better guest experiences through various functionalities that look different for every operational department.

What kind of features does OPTX offer that help operators look towards the future?

Depending on the department one may be in, OPTX offers several features regarding that outlook. One example would be our slot profit model, which provides insights and recommendations for games that an operator currently does not have on its gaming floor. Based on the demographics of the property, we think a certain game would do well. That’s a way for slot operators to utilize macro-level data across the entire North American market and make better slot floor decisions. If one was in player development, we have models that present daily top contacts for hosts. Essentially, we prioritize who the casino should be reaching out to, to ensure there’s no guesswork involved throughout the day. That helps build ROI for the property, because it is getting the benefit of the host reaching out to the best customers and not having to cipher through data or manual Excel spreadsheets.

How does OPTX Tables and Table AI help showcase the innovation the company is currently working on?

We’re really excited about our table product

and bringing it to market. We’ll be showcasing it at G2E and some of the things that operators can expect to see on that platform are realtime optimization, spread optimization and real-time game recommendations.

It will provide the ability to better forecast and plan out scheduling for tables, but also show anomalies and insights into players, the games they are playing and what other games they may enjoy coming from tables to slots. The beauty of the OPTX platform is that we continue to innovate as well as add different modules and verticals constantly. In this example, table games now get the benefit of all the player information and slot machine information we’ve already developed. We’re really excited to show this product at G2E.

Previously, you mentioned OPTX closely monitoring the rapid growth of iGaming and sports sectors, do these releases connect with that? There’s definitely more to expect from OPTX in those areas. Those areas will

be completely independent in the sense that they will be their own module, but they will also be integrated into the entire platform. We’re excited about the future of iGaming. When we move into sports betting, it will be through the lens of collecting and operationalizing the data so it can be aligned with everything else we do. That’ll be from the player perspective and understanding total player value.

Does OPTX take feedback mainly from operators that you provide products for, or from players too?

All of our feedback is driven from our customers, which are the operators themselves. We’re also looking at the market. We look at trends, trade shows and see what is popular and trending to help shape our roadmap. Most of our roadmap is, by and large, driven by our current customers and what they’re looking for in a product.

What more is there to expect for the remainder of 2024?

G2E is the next landmark, but we release new product features every two weeks and some of those are minor feature enhancements. However, Q4 is going to be a massive quarter for OPTX in terms of new product features and releases.

BROOKE FIUMARA Co-Founder and Co-CEO OPTX

We have a lot of features that can be added to our existing modules customers have been asking for. There are many things planned in Q4 such as campaign automations and something that we call OPTX Flows, which is essentially creating automation and actions based upon different triggers within the data.

BOTH HOME AND AWAY

Gaming Arts CEO Mike Dreitzer speaks to Gaming America about making moves into the LatAm and European markets, while also releasing new products in the US.

Can you take us through the new cabinets Gaming Arts is debuting in North America?

We have been working tirelessly with the Merkur Group to be able to extend the cabinets we’ll be offering, including a curved screen solution. For the US cabinets, we’ll be implementing a triple screen, which we’re very excited about as well. The cabinets are modular, so the idea is to give the operators flexibility and to offer the players a large variety. We’re excited to show these cabinets in conjunction with our existing VertX cabinet at G2E this year.

What type of expansion is the company looking to make in LatAm and Europe?

Obviously, we’re always looking for new opportunities. In Latin America, we’ve dipped our toe in the water in a couple of markets and had some really good early results. We expect to continue that more on a case-by-case basis, where we’re assessing the different markets individually. In Europe, we are looking for a continued expansion, with Merkur Group being a partner of ours and they’re very strong in those countries. You can look forward to us doing some more offerings in Europe shortly.

What kind of customer feedback have you received on those new cabinets?

The VertX continues to be our workhorse box, if you will. We continue to offer better content across that box and the

reception has been very positive. So we look forward to having a whole new set of games for the VertX box shortly. We’re currently releasing several titles and we have a whole bunch more we’re excited to debut at G2E 2024.

What kind of work are you doing in historical horseracing?

We are fully integrated with Exacta Systems, which allows us to offer our product in that sector of the industry. Of course, Exacta Systems is now owned by Churchill Downs and we are still in the early days of breaking into that market, but we are rapidly working towards providing more titles for historical horseracing. I look forward to showcasing some additional new

MIKE DREITZER CEO Gaming Arts

titles at G2E; that will really be a focus for us in 2025 and beyond.

Are the cabinets more about creating something new from Gaming Arts or perfecting products the company has made in the past?

This will be a new product for Gaming Arts. It’s going to be a brand new offering and we’re very excited about the ability to have a variety of cabinets, which allows the company to be more competitive across North American markets. Especially, for example, where we had 49 or 50-inch verticals, we will now be able to offer our games in 55-inch curved screens, as well as the dual and triple screen. It allows for an opportunity, as we expand our product line, to be able to offer a greater variety of games across a greater population of cabinets, and we believe that will certainly make us more compelling and competitive as we move forward.

Is there anything regarding the rest of 2024 you would like to share for Gaming Arts?

We look forward to G2E 2024; we’re certain that it’s going to really turn a lot of heads, and people will take great notice of the progress we’ve made in the market and with our partner in Merkur Group. We have a lot to show and a lot to prove, if you will. It’s going to be a great show. For the remainder of 2024, we intend to build on the momentum from the show and further extend that into 2025.

MERGING REWARDS

CasinoTrac President and CEO Chad Hoehne takes Gaming America through the company’s newest product.

What does your SlotSUITE product offer potential partners and clients?

SlotSUITE is tailored for those patrons that are not your mobile-enabled group, serving them promotions, offers and even surprises to both carded and uncarded players. When the ticket comes out of the machine, you notice it. One of the key features of SlotSUITE is that it’s a single-wire implementation and software driven over CasinoTrac-enabled floors. To provide this type of functionality in the past, you would end up needing to deploy an additional network across your entire gaming floor. Additional connections into every slot machine and additional devices inside of every slot machine to just get that message to the secondary printer port of the ticket slots. We’ve made the process easier by partnering with TransAct to implement its Epicentral server across the existing CasinoTrac network infrastructure, providing a seamless integration for operators.

Is SlotSUITE a product the gaming industry needs for the future, or is there a pressing desire today?

SlotSUITE is something that’s been needed for some time, but without the cooperation and collaboration of the parties involved, it was too just painful for operators to implement. Paper and cards are seemingly going away, and that’s why it’s so important that we can bring these promotions and informational tools to those players where they live.

In addition to that, we realize there’s a valuable group of customers who are not interested in adopting the mobile app technology. They’re just not going to get excited about credits that show up on their phone. For that group of people, we want to be able to provide

that same frictionless rewards system flow we already do with mobile app customers. SlotSUITE is how we do that, as it can be tailored for those patrons that are not mobile enabled, but also for any consumer on the casino floor.

In your SlotSUITE case study, are there any figures or feedback that stood out to CasinoTrac?

The statistics speak for themselves in our white paper. For instance, carded rate of play is up by an average of 58.6% across the past six months at properties in which SlotSUITE was deployed. We’ve seen over 930,000 custom vouchers printed for nearly 16,000 unique players that were reported to have used the product.

The feedback has been what we expect in that gameplay is up, multiple groups of consumers are reporting positive results and the SlotSUITE system is working as we always intended.

CHAD HOEHNE President and CEO CasinoTrac

Are there any recent partnerships CasinoTrac has completed that you are especially excited about?

Certainly, this connection with TransAct Technologies for its Epicentral is our new premier product of the year and we’ve piggybacked a number of different features onto that. We’re working on others and we’ll have this conversation again soon about what I think are real game-changers for the gaming floor. I don’t want to spill the beans just yet, but we do have others right now that are operational in our showroom in Las Vegas, which are in preparation to be rolled out to customers.

Do those partnerships have any connection to CasinoTrac's current solutions?

We have a current integration right now with Koin and MarkerTrax. We have several others in the marketplace but those remain our primary relationships. I look forward to announcing the deployment of that cashless wallet integration in casinos very soon. Using our KT mobile app, as well, a customer can virtually card onto a machine and pass the money from their wallet onto the game right from their phone. I think that speaks more towards a new generation of customers who are a mobile-enabled group and trying to make it more frictionless for them to engage with those games.

Finally, what can we expect from CasinoTrac for the rest of 2024?

At G2E this year, all of these products will be shown as part of our featured integration. There are more significant gaming floor enhancements in the pipeline with CasinoTrac that are going to be coming out before the end of the year as well. For now, I’ll say we will talk again soon.

ENTERING THE US: NO TIME FOR EXCUSES

Founder Rickard Vikström speaks to Tim Poole , giving his advice on entering the US, the history of Internet Vikings and how certain strategies helped the business develop. According to Vikström, there is a clear path to US success – if you are willing to follow it.

Could you explain exactly what Internet Vikings does?

We provide servers. There are a lot of marketeers, from Amazon to Microsoft to Google, that have a trillion different ways of marketing servers, cloud capacity, infrastructure as a service, etc. It’s all buzzwords. What we all provide is a server

that you can host your application on. An application could be a casino, eCommerce, blog. The server can be used for anything, but we specifically target gaming.

Is it 100% gaming clients? Do you have one or two in other areas? I would say 80% gaming. We host the

biggest card payment service provider for retail shops. Not for online, but for the wireless terminals customers pay with in restaurants and so on. I designed the system that communicates with the bank 18 years ago in 2006. We still run it. It’s highquality resilient hosting.

Talk me through your aims in the US.

There are so many people leaving the US.You have Betsson and SuperBook’s withdrawal, Betway etc. But, there are two sides to that coin: there are a lot of people withdrawing, but there are still a ton of people making a crazy amount of money in the US. My view on it; let’s focus on both. At Internet Vikings, today, 75% of our revenues are in the US. We have increased 280% in the last two years just because of our US growth. It’s been phenomenal. Not only for us, because we have helped Hacksaw Gaming, Greentube, Aristocrat etc. So many players going into the US – they have somewhere to host their application. That’s the story I want to tell. We’re a small company from a small country that no one knew about three years ago – and we believe we have managed to become one of

the most important players in the US gaming industry.

So, in short, despite the growing list of companies that are leaving the US (especially those based in Europe), you believe the US is still worth targeting?

It can work, but it’s not a walk in the park... If you are Volvo and try to sell Volvo cars in the US, it can work. It’s not a walk in the park because there’s a lot of other car manufacturers like Ford that are quite big in the US. As Volvo, you need to find an audience for your product. In gaming, it’s the same thing here. You need to find your audience.

To challenge that thesis, at Internet Vikings you run hosting servers. But do you think there are less barriers doing that in the US than, for example, coming in as an operator, up against FanDuel and DraftKings?

Yes and no. As a supplier, I would say no. Roughly, you have 10 times more slot titles in Asia and Europe than you have in the US –because the labs haven't been able to certify more games than that. We need to produce a lot more slots in the US for that market to

grow. Looking at the European market, the reason why it has grown for the last decade is because you had companies like Play’n Go. You had companies like NetEnt with Starburst, which became one of the most successful games. That’s what grew the Scandinavian gaming market. There were games that people actually wanted to play. So I think that’s what we need to have in the US as well. More games and more content to appeal to different players.

There’s no danger, you feel, of flooding the market? Let’s say a consumer jumps onto a casino site and they see 100 titles, but they’re all very similar. How do they choose their favorite?

Isn’t that the same problem in Europe? But it is a problem in the industry, that a game’s lifetime is a few months and then it goes on the back burner. Still, there are so many more games that need to be created for the American market. Because, again, what many have been doing for the last five years is just taking their brick-and-mortar titles and putting them online.

That’s what they did in Europe 15 years ago and it’s amazing that it’s still their go-to market strategy in the US. But if you look at Pragmatic Play, Play’n Go, NetEnt, that didn’t have the legacy of physical, but did everything online – they’ve seen success. So, I think there’s a lot of room for game developers in game providers in the US in the coming years.

If you were to give a European firm like yourselves going into the US advice on what will succeed, what will work? What are the main bullet points?

RICKARD VIKSTRÖM Co-Founder Internet Vikings

To start off with, as a CEO you should take your own time, a few hours a week and look into the market. Start researching, start working with it as the leader of your business. Don’t start six months from now, because it takes so much time to find a lawyer, find this, find that. You start with these things because you can’t

GAMING AMERICA | EUROPE

“THAT SUMMER, THERE WAS SO MUCH TRIAL AND ERROR, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE SHOULD DO.”

expedite it... Just start. Do it slowly. Maybe don’t go to New Jersey, maybe start with Connecticut, West Virginia, Pennsylvania. Don’t say, “May next year, we’re going to spend $2m on going into the US” and then try to expedite it. They will burn $1.5m. If they’d done it half a year earlier, they would have saved $1.5m because of all those mistakes. Looking at our entry three and a half years ago, I was probably the most naive person in the world thinking that I could do it. We were a small hosting company in Europe. That summer of 2021, there was so much trial and error, trying to figure out what we should do.

That’s not something you hear every day! Your first point, about being smart and strategic with which states you pick… On the B2C side, bet365 has pretty much done that and they’re seeing success for that reason.

Another, PlayStar, is doing a very good job because they have no budget to speak of compared to everyone else. But I’m impressed by their persistence, their willingness and that they, with a very small team based in Europe, dared to go into the US. And second of all, that they’ve managed to grow in a market that, on paper, they should not be able to grow that fast in.

I also find it interesting when you discussed just a few hours a week from the CEO on a Sunday afternoon. That’s

quite a manageable process…

Exactly. But then a lot of people get to the US and “Oh, we need to hire a Country Manager. We need to do this and that.” Then they spend, say, a million on that person for two years, which they shouldn’t have needed. We have no one in the US, which is also against the rule book.

You could say that’s unusual to start with, right? And that you’ve potentially proven otherwise…

Everyone asked me, why are you not in the US? I said, “It costs me to go to the US, to live there, to work there. It probably costs Internet Vikings an extra $300,000 a year in that range with work visas, insurance, daycare for my kid. Whatever it is, it’s just so expensive in that country. For that $300,000, I can fly back and forth to the US every week and still have money left. The flight is just eight hours to the East Coast, so I can be anywhere in the US in 15 hours. You don’t need to start with building a presence in the US. Just do it from Europe.

Venturing back, tell us more about Internet Vikings and its history.

Internet Vikings, going back to naivety, was started when I was 21-22 with Victor Jerlin, the other Founder. We were naive, thinking we should build a hosting company. I was working at a shared hosting company. Victor was working at Tain operations. He was 18-19 when he moved to Malta and started working for

them. Two years later, we started what became Internet Vikings with one focus: We wanted to build a domain register and a hosting company tailored for Internet marketeers.

You need a lot of IPs. You need a lot of domains. You can’t just go in and say “I’m going to build SEO” and have no budget to build. You need some bricks to build SEO and all other internet marketing. We’ve fixed domain names, fixed hosting, tailored for such marketeers. We did that from 2008 for 10 years with some notso-successful projects, some successful projects. We also started an email security company. We became the largest antispam company in Sweden. We sold that in 2014, together with the two other partners of that company, so it was the four founders. In 2015, that made us accelerate Internet Vikings. We did that in 2016-2019; by then, we were generating $4m-$5m in revenue, $1m in profit. We said ‘this is boring, we need to grow even quicker. Let’s redo everything.’ So we broke apart the group because it was several different companies... We took Internet Vikings. Some things work, some things don’t. I probably have 10 things me and Victor have done that never worked! [Laughs]

I have spoken to Gustaf Hagman about this, who has had great success with LeoVegas, but is it as important to fail as it is to succeed?

Absolutely. Also, talk to others. Listen to why they failed and what they have done differently. One thing I should have learned many years ago is to focus better. In 2020, 2021, Internet Vikings was in four verticals. I managed to sell all four of them, but it was quite obvious after a while that I was the only one that could sell all four verticals because I created them. But trying to replicate that with new people that could sell hosting, domain names and data analysis in the same way? It was impossible. It was time to focus –and specialize.

STICK, TWIST OR DOUBLE DOWN?

Gaming America regular columnist and resident Las Vegas expert, Oliver Lovat, discusses the challenges facing Vegas’ 1990s megaresorts in the 2020s.

OLIVER LOVAT is the CEO of The Denstone Group , that offers strategic consultancy in resort development. His research topics are Las Vegas Customer Behavior and Strategic Positioning of Casino Resorts.

Blackjack is not a game of chance. Our decisions are influenced by a series of variables – the cards we have, the cards the dealer has, cards the other players have and what cards have already passed. Understanding the environment and applying an appropriate strategy will lead to advantageous outcomes. Without both, the player is likely to lose.

It is a perfect metaphor for assessing the problems facing today’s owners of Las Vegas’ 1990s megaresorts.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY LAS VEGAS

1990s Las Vegas was as synonymous with implosions as it was for new openings. When older properties reached the end of their natural life, the economics to blow up and build on the land with a larger casino, more rooms and greater amenities was evident. From The Mirage in November 1989 to Paris in September 1999, over a dozen casino megaresorts opened in the

Las Vegas resort corridor, adding 30,000 guestrooms to the city.

Some executives recoil when remembering “family-friendly” Las Vegas, but many miss the point of that period; it wasn’t about attracting families to Las Vegas, it was about chasing the established customer segment. Las Vegas’ key demographic had always been men and women aged late 30s to mid 50s.

In an interview with Time Magazine in 1994, Steve Wynn set out his thinking. “It’s one thing for the place to be user-friendly to the whole family because the family travels together… it’s quite a different thing to sit down and dedicate creative design energy to build for children. I’m not, ain’t gonna, not interested. I’m after Mom and Dad.”

Moreover, the tactic worked, with record visitation and customer spend throughout the 1990s. Local operators Steve and William Bennett led the way, opening The Mirage and Excalibur within months. They were followed in 1993 by sister properties, Treasure Island

and Luxor, and Kirk Kerkorian’s $1.1bn MGM Grand, costing nearly double of the most expensive property to date.

1996 saw Bob Stupak replace his existing casino with The Stratosphere. Wynn/ Bennett’s Monte Carlo and Primadonna/ MGM’s New York New York opened in 1997. The era’s masterpiece, Bellagio, opened on 15th October 1998, with Mandalay Bay, Venetian and Paris closing out the decade in 1999. Off the Strip, key openings included Marnell’s Rio in 1990, Peter Morton’s Hard Rock in 1995 and Michael Gaughan’s Coast Casinos’ Orleans in 1996.

VEGAS MEGARESORTS | GAMING AMERICA

kids clogging the casino floors, explicitly banning them.

As Las Vegas entered the 2000s, ownership of the 1990s megaresorts consolidated, primarily with MGM Resorts assuming ownership of the Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, Monte Carlo, Treasure Island, Mirage, Bellagio and several other older properties. Moves were made to meet the needs of this new wave of visitors. In some resorts, the strategic decisions made were highly successful, in others, what seemed good short-term tactics have had inadvertent consequences.

1997’s Vegas Vacation, the following decade opened with Ocean’s 11 in 2001. Las Vegas’ marketing campaign “What Happens Here, Stays Here” was launched in 2003. The TV reality show Rehab: Party At The Hard Rock Hotel, and the movie What Happens in Vegas – both tales of misbehavior – were released in 2008. Alongside The Hangover in 2009, movies both shaped and reflected what Las Vegas had become. From family fun to elegant adventure to drunken debauchery in a decade.

GAMBLERS, CONVENTIONS AND SOMETHING SEXY

Although some operators themed their properties differently, the target customers remained similar, with resorts mainly competing for the baby boomer generation of Americans. However, by the end of the decade, many observers believed Las Vegas’ family friendly strategies were misplaced. Operators witnessed the rise in business tourism fueled by The Venetian, teenagers became 20-somethings and stopped travelling with their parents, instead vacationing with their peers. The newly opened luxury properties, like the Bellagio, did not want

Everyone chased the casino action, with increased loyalty offers and comps. The $108m Colosseum at Caesars competed with MGM Garden Arena as the top venue in town, breaking box-office records for superstar residencies. Others chased the convention action, with newer and bigger spaces. Convention visitation rose from 3.8 million in 1999 to 6.3 million in 2006. And some chased the cool LA kids’ action: the same kids had accompanied their parents to Vegas a decade before. Las Vegas became sexier, with Paris and Britney’s tabloid travails replacing Siegfried and Roy as the evening’s entertainment attraction.

Whereas The Griswolds hit Las Vegas in

PLAYING YOUR CARDS RIGHT

Today, the reinstatement costs to implode and rebuild 1990s resorts are economically prohibitive, thus the path for sustained profitability has to be considered in the context of the properties that have been inherited. There are three decisions required for managing 1990s megaresorts – and they are the same as those in blackjack, each with their merits, depending on how one perceives the situation in front of them.

STICK?

To extend the metaphor, for MGM, ownership of both Circus Circus(1968) and Excalibur (1990) were the same hand at different sides of the table. Both were value

GAMING AMERICA | VEGAS MEGARESORTS

properties aimed at the same demographic and both were highly profitable to operate.

Circus Circus and Excalibur’s 8,000 rooms equate to over 5% of the entire market today and 11% in 1990. Both properties remain a valuable option for a defined customer segment that actively seeks price. Other than maintaining operations to meet customer expectations and improving existing amenities to present market tastes, marginal revenue increases may be obtained. However, the greatest upside is in systemic market moves; these properties were positioned to be the “price leaders” on the Strip and thus will continue to be so, even as the market holistically rises. MGM held both Excalibur and Circus Circus until 2019, selling the latter for $825m.

New York New York is also remarkably similar to when it first opened, with several of the restaurants and outlets nearing their 30th anniversary. The property has undertaken several renovations and made enhancements to meet the changes in pedestrian engagement and access. However, the primacy of aligning the property as a representation (or homage) to New York has proved resilient.

TWIST?

When owning Treasure Island, MGM attempted to re-orientate the property away from family market in a bid to capture the

cooler, sexier, younger customer that started coming to the city. The name was changed from Treasure Island to just TI. As part of the reposition, the gloriously extravagant pirate show was replaced by the more sensual Sirens of TI, and immersive fantasy was forced to coexist with the pulsating bass of the ultra-lounges and contemporary retail. Phil Ruffin had other ideas when he acquired the property in 2009, removing many of the “sexy TI” programming, returning it to a value offering with great success.

Taking a family-friendly experiential property and going “contemporary” was evident at another new MGM acquisition. At The Luxor, 90% of the original build cost was spent on removing many of original elements at the highly themed property, adding bars, nightlife, guestrooms and convention facilities. There was little tangible upside, with customers being disappointed that the iconic exterior was not matched by the promise conveyed. In recent years, the property has seen modifications, returning more “fun,” engaging and non-gaming activities, seeking a return to the original premise.

The Stratosphere became The STRAT after Golden Entertainment’s 2017 acquisition. The exterior modifications and name change were an outward communication of the full internal modernization of the hotel, casino and amenities. This wasn’t a full reposition to change customers, but rather a modification

to show new ownership and update throughout the property.

The most dramatic twist was at the 1996’s loosely themed European-elegance-meetsclassic-Americana resort, Monte Carlo. Operating with some of the lowest ADRs on

The Strip, (The Monte Carlo was conceived as a value offering) over time it had benefited from the location at the heart of the MGM portfolio, with Aria to the north, NYNY to the south, and the newly built “Park” and T-Mobile arena were adjacent.

Budgeted at $550m, the renovations cost considerably more than the 344m initial build cost. The Monte Carlo was renamed Park MGM, with a Nomad branded hotel within. The changes included a full refurbishment, the addition of new concert venue (with 5,200 capacity) a full reprogramming of F+B, including Italian rooted Eataly, the traditional Chicago steakhouse, Bavette’s, Primrose, a “French-ish” bistro, and a range of ethnic offerings, lifted from modern Los Angeles. Renovations completed in 2018.

DOUBLE DOWN?

The Venetian and Bellagio have followed similar paths, maintaining their thematic elements and relevance thanks to constant improvements aligned to their original demographics. Both properties have added hotel towers since their original inception, and both have announced significant capital improvements to their resorts.

Paris was conceived as a rival to Bellagio. However, after a period of financial constraints at Caesars, which (when Harrah’s) acquired Park Place, has invested in renovations, elevating the offering to closer resemble Caesars Palace than Paris

of the 2010s. The new renovated Versailles Tower, built in 1981 as part of the original MGM Grand, was recently completed. The premium on these rooms is being reported as $65 per day. When averaging this out on the 756

rooms (at 92% occupancy) sees over $16.5m in additional revenues projected.

At The Mirage and Mandalay Bay another strategy was taken – follow the Venetian model with conventions during the week, maintaining the original brand promise for weekend leisure customers and gamers.

Both expanded their restaurant offering, both had added nightlife, and both had modernized and expanded their convention facilities during the 2000s and 2010s. Both properties slowly renovated to remove theming to a more sedate conventionfriendly palate. By the time of closure there were virtually none of the original bright south-seas evocature present at The Mirage’s interior and very little southeast Asian references remain at Mandalay Bay. Other than the physical differences, these properties had morphed into similar entities, and within a portfolio strategy, there could be space only for one.

The MGM Grand was built for scale, an Emerald City-inspired entertainment palace. The Wizard of Oz theme and associated theme park have long gone, replaced early on by the desire to evoke glamor and excitement.

For decades it had The Garden Arena, the Strip’s largest entertainment venue and home of many notable boxing fights. Studio 54, the largest nightclub for many years, was replaced by Hakkasan in 2013. The property features budget rooms, enhanced “Stay Well” rooms,

VEGAS MEGARESORTS | GAMING AMERICA

changing tastes, and many production shows and performers have appeared on their marquee. For a while this “something for everyone” approach proved successful; in 2011 it was the most popular resort with 38% of all Las Visitors staying there in the previous 5 years, however by 2021that had fallen to 24%, the largest decline in the market.

Now into its 30s, arguably the biggest challenge on the Strip is what is next for the largest and, in its time, the most expensive megaresort. In today’s highly segmented market, the market leader’s flagship brand is at a disadvantage with its inclusive strategy and legacy position. Yet with over 5,000 rooms (as well as many more in associated towers) it is remarkably well placed in size and scale. A similar uplift in room pricing, as seen at Paris, would increase revenues by over $100m per annum.

Will this property see a modest reinvestment as before, or will MGM be bold and aim for a full repositining of the entertainment champion in the entertainment capital? Will the temptation of drawing that extra card be a winner, returning The MGM Grand into a market leader, or will it be one card too many?

GOOD/BAD STRATEGY REVEALED

With new variations of blackjack appearing regularly at various casinos, are executives playing the traditional strategy in a new game?

Las Vegas in 2024 is very different from that

2022 and 2023 generated $7.8bn and $8.2bn. In 2023, room revenues generated $6.9bn, higher than the gaming revenues generated every year before 2022.

Moreover, with the closure of The Mirage and Tropicana, it would be expected to see systemic ADR increases across the city, further emphasizing the importance of the guest room experience, an aspect that which was underrepresentedat time of megaresort construction, but one that will grow revenues across the market.

In my 2021 research in customer decisionmaking priorities, amenities, location, loyalty program and guestrooms all factored higher than price. In a recent discussion, a senior casino executive observed that doing nothing had sometimes been the best strategy. This was a wise observation.

Throughout the 2010s, the consensus was that theming properties was a bad idea; however, when taking a more holistic and longer-term view of the competitive market, those properties that merely modified, rather that de-themed, have fared better. Across all customer segments, the themed 1990s megaresorts that did not significantly reorientate – Bellagio, Venetian, Paris, Excalibur, Mandalay Bay, New York New York,Excalibur, Stratosphere and Orleans –have all maintained a clear customer focus and operate consistently and profitably, proving solid ROI where made. When those megaresorts from the period have

VRISING STAR VS BELTERRA CASINO

Which Hoosier riverboat casino will emerge victorious? Gaming America’s Laura Mack has the scoop!

For this Indiana casino competition, Rising Star and Belterra Casino Resort will go head-to-head in a round of the classic Battleship board game! The winner of each category will get to claim “hit” for a chance to sink the other’s riverboat battleship.

Both destinations will have the chance to score in several categories, including cleanliness, dining, look and layout, variety of games and guest services.

Before we get started, be assured that

no real battleships were harmed in this riverboat casino faceoff... Now let’s get to know our contenders…

Rising Sun, Indiana’s Rising Star Casino Resort, is located near the banks of the Ohio River and offers guests both hotel and RV campground accommodation options. The destination is operated by Full House Resorts.

This riverboat hotspot first opened in the mid-1990s after the Indiana Gaming Commission approved a riverboat gaming

license for the Hyatt-affiliated project. The Commission granted Hyatt the license in 1995. The following year, Rising Sun welcomed the Grand Victoria II riverboat casino. Players flocked to the casino floor for the first time in October 1996. By July 1997, a 200-room hotel was added to the property. Hyatt sold the casino resort to Full House Resorts in 2011 for $43m. Following the sale, the new owner and operator renamed the location Rising Star.

SCASINO

Rising Star’s gaming floor is considerably smaller than other Indiana casinos I’ve visited. However, the casino has more than one level, complete with escalators that will quickly take you from the main level to the floor below.

Meanwhile, Belterra Casino Resort in Florence is a riverboat casino operated

by Boyd Gaming and offers players a variety of entertainment options. This Switzerland County casino resort is centrally located along the Ohio River between Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The destination is close to both Louisville and Cincinnati. It first opened to the public in October 2000.

LOOK AND LAYOUT

Pulling into the resort parking lot at Rising Star, I was pleased to see gorgeous landscaping and a large fountain in front of the casino hotel. The view was breathtaking. The resort and casino building had the charm and allure of theme parks I used to visit during my childhood.

My favorite part of this destination was its pavilion. Upon walking inside, the space was decorated with a generous amount of Independence Day bling, which only added to the pavilion’s beauty. This is also a great place for Cornhole fans. The main entrance has two Cornhole games already set up so guests can relax for a quick game before hitting the casino.

I loved the small-town feel of this location. However, Belterra had its charms too. Driving up to this resort was eye-catching. The property is home to a beautiful multilevel resort hotel with lovely landscaping. The parking lot was easy to access and conveniently located adjacent to the main entrance. That said, Rising Star delivers the first “hit” in our Battleship game.

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DINING

Rising Star’s pavilion had a restaurant called Ben’s Bistro. I highly recommend trying the pizza at this dining spot. Delicious does not begin to cover how good it was.

I was impressed not only with how

tasty the food was at Rising Star but also with the prices.

Many items on the menu at Ben’s Bistro were reasonably priced and could be shared with someone else. Two people can easily enjoy a satisfying meal for less than $20 at this restaurant.

Unfortunately, Rising Star did not have complimentary drink stations on the gaming floor like I have seen in other Hoosierland casinos. But the drinks here were not too expensive, just a couple bucks for a fountain drink.

I also had the chance to try a meal at Belterra and highly recommend the cuisine! While taking a break from the gaming floor, I enjoyed a tasty pasta dish from Stadium Bar & Grill. The great thing about this restaurant was its diverse menu. Stadium offered several appetizers, as well as entrees that do not drain the budget. My meal cost a little over $10. The pasta options on the menu are available as a full and half order, which was nice.

I opted for the half order and was pleased with a satisfying portion of food. Along with a great assortment of restaurants, including Out of Bounds Bar & Grill, Stadium Bar & Grill, Nosh, Copper Whisk, Club 38, 19 Bar & Patio and 19 Steak & Seafood.

There are plenty of beverage options on the casino floor, including a full bar and a free soda, tea and water drink station.Based on the food alone, I would give this category to Rising Star. However, this location did not have as many restaurant choices as its competitor. So, Belterra claims its first “hit” on Rising Star, which makes the score tied with one hit apiece!

THE CLEANLINESS CATEGORY

Both these riverboat casinos allow smoking inside. However, each location did its best to keep the amount of visible ashtray contents to a minimum. I checked the restrooms at each location. Both were clean and well stocked with supplies like soap, toilet paper, etc.

But for this category, Belterra takes the “hit.” This is based solely on how nice the restrooms looked. The bathrooms at Rising Star were a bit fancier, while the restrooms at Belterra did not have stall doors that provided total privacy. These doors were

Belterra Casino Resort

Rising Star

the solid version of window blinds, not something that I prefer.

Rising Star now takes the lead with two hits, while Belterra has one.

VARIETY OF GAMES

Rising Star has more than 600 slot games and two dozen table games. But this location does not have a sportsbook or poker room, a disadvantage for those who are looking for the full casino experience.

Down on the bottom level, I found an assortment of old-school slot games in various denominations. Considering the size of this casino, the game selection was still diverse. The main level had several newer games and slot player go-to favorites like Dragon Link, Lightning Link and Wicked Wheel.

But finding an open seat at a slot game was a challenge. Rising Star brought in a steady flow of eager players, even during the holiday. Though, this gave me chance to try some games I had never played before, which made my experience at this Rising Sun hot spot enjoyable.

Belterra’s casino floor has more than 900 slot games that are spread out on two levels. Most of the classic and basic slot games are located on the bottom level, while the newer video slot games are available within feet of walking into the venue. Along with slot games, Belterra features live table games, video poker and a FanDuel sportsbook.

Because this is the larger casino of the two, navigating through the gaming floor and finding a game to play was much easier. There was plenty of room to move around from slot to slot on the casino floor without bumping into others or distracting them from their gameplay.

Belterra had a great selection of games throughout the space, including some rare gems I have not seen in other Hoosier casinos, like Wild Cherry. This slot game was available both on the main gaming floor and in the high limit room. For this category, Rising Star sustains a “hit.” The score is tied once again at two to two.

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GUEST SERVICES

Staff members at both locations were personable and friendly. However, employees at Rising Star exceeded my expectations. Because Rising Sun is a smaller town, I noticed the casino staff brought with them the warmth that comes with rural community life.

That said, I was a little concerned that the guy at the entrance did not check my ID before letting me inside. Perhaps this location has a different policy on who gets admitted without having ID. The man at the desk simply smiled and said he was confident I was at least 21.

The experience at Belterra was vastly different. The woman working at the entrance asked for my ID and explained that someone must look older than 40 to be waved in without checking anything. I did not see a lot of staff throughout Rising Star, probably because of the much smaller gaming floor. However, finding casino staff at Belterra was much easier. And I was impressed by the friendly staff at the bar, even though there was a constant line of patrons ready to buy a drink.

It was a tough battle, but Rising Star suffered the last “hit” in the game.

“You sunk my Battleship!”

FINAL THOUGHTS

When it comes to quality casinos in Indiana, Hoosiers can have their pick of some great gambling spots where they can kick back, relax and enjoy their game of choice. Indiana currently offers its residents access to 13 commercial casinos within its borders. Belterra sailed away the victor in this match up, and this is a casino I highly recommend if you are planning a visit to Southern Indiana.

For those who like to plan their visits ahead of time, Belterra has a great website to do this. A great feature on the site is its slot search page. Guests can search for specific games, and the site will give you information on whether it has the title and where the game is located on the casino floor. This was an amazing feature and great time-saver for those who are looking for specific games.

Congratulations on your win, Belterra!

Gaming America's Laura Mack

THE CEO SPECIAL

We speak with (anti-clockwise from bottom left), Ray Pineault (page 40), Chris Hebert (page 46), Laura Penney (page 52), Matt King (page 58), Paul Burns (page 64), Jennifer Shatley (page 70) and Kresimir Spajic (page 76).

THE SPIRIT OF AQUAI

Since the legalization of Tribal gaming in the late 1980s, several names have risen through the ranks to represent how far the market has come – and where the market can go. The Seminole Tribe, Pechanga and Chickasaw are just a few. Such a list, however, would feel incomplete without one name: Mohegan.

Having been at the helm of the Tribal operator since 2021 and with 24 years of experience with the Tribe, CEO and President Ray Pineault sat down with Gaming America to speak with kindness and openness. When I asked if his last name was pronounced

‘pinot,’ like the wine, Pineault laughed and smiled; its French, but he “doesn’t put an accent on it.”

Speaking to me like a friend, yet getting his points across succinctly in our conversation, it was clear Pineault knew what he was doing and did so with care and confidence. It was natural, respectful and welcoming – all traits Pineault upholds across Mohegan. But how did he get to Mohegan in the first place?

For Pineault, joining the gaming industry was

I would never write an autobiography about myself. The honest reason is because I truly believe everything in my life, particularly my work career and my family, is about team.

not his first intention. Since childhood, his heart was set on becoming a lawyer – a fact he is routinely reminded of, even now. “My parents, my mother, my father has passed away since, would always remind me of when I was a young kid. I always said, “I’m going to be a lawyer. I’m going to go to law school and I’m going to be a lawyer."

This was far from just a childhood aspiration, though. After graduating at undergrad level, Pineault still had his sights set on becoming a lawyer.

“I went back to law school at night while continuing to work and got my law degree,” he explains. Indeed, he held a job in banking and finance while studying. Even following law school, Pineault remained in banking and finance, getting “a job with a small mortgage banking firm in New York as an in-house counsel.”

As a Connecticut native, Pineault was no stranger to the Mohegan Tribe. So, when a role for in-house counsel with the Tribe appeared, it was worth investigation. A job, Pineault admits, his mother told him about, as she herself was working with the Tribe at the time.

“I am from the region. In fact, I grew up about three miles away from where the Connecticut resort (Mohegan Sun) is now, and it’s always nice to come back home and be near family. So it was a great opportunity. My mother told me about the job, and I came, interviewed and they hired me as an attorney."

In this first legal-facing role with the Tribe, which lasted three and a half years, Pineault was a representative of its resort operation (Mohegan Pennsylvania, its second location, would not be opened until 2005). Working alongside management, Pineault was particularly proud of his involvement in the Tribe’s purchase of Women’s National Basketball Association team the Orlando Miracle in January 2003, which was renamed Connecticut Sun following the purchase. He calls the experience a “pleasure and honor.”

In 2005, Pineault was moved to the

| GAMING AMERICA

You know, I think a family life, work/life balance is really important. I’m happy being over at Mohegan Sun and running

Mohegan. I’ve kind of reached the pinnacle.” Well, things ended up panning out a little differently for the now President and CEO.... But this does raise an interesting point. How does one become a CEO and also maintain a balanced family life? Is it even possible?

casino sector to oversee its legal department. He describes it as a “big organization with a lot of bright people,” though notes his limited industry knowledge at the time, having “never been in casino resort operations” before that point. However, as an attorney, Pineault hoped he could hone his skills and become part of the general counsel – something, in the end, he did not do, instead overseeing the general counsel when he moved to the casino sector.

casino sector.

Several years later, Pineault was promoted to President company were. With three

was promoted to President and General Manager of Mohegan’s flagship property, Mohegan Sun. Recalling an experience with the then-President of the organization, he had asked Pineault what his aspirations within the company were. With three young children at the time, combined with the expanding Tribal gaming market, Pineault had said, “I really don’t want your job. I don’t want to travel. I have kids at home.

Tribal gaming market, Pineault to travel. I have kids at home.

Developing a career while also providing for a family is far from an easy challenge –any parent will tell you the same.Though, for Pineault, Mohegan proved accommodating. “That’s one thing about Mohegan – they truly believe in the work/ life balance. I’m willing to work early in the morning and late at night, but I want to be there for my kids, too,” he says.

Reflecting back to when his family was younger, Pineault points to the love his children had for sports and his commitment to being involved. “I always wanted to be there for their sports. I wanted to make sure I saw their events... when they have a soccer event; my son’s a hockey player, so when there’s a hockey event, I went to it. I had the opportunity.”

Of course, sacrifices had to be made along the way – Pineault points to how raising a family impacted his wife’s career particularly – but more than anything, it is a time Pineault misses. “Now they’re older and they don’t have it anymore, I miss it.”

Indeed, Tribal gaming at its core is about family. These are casinos that Tribes have fought for to financially support themselves

The world of Tribal gaming has been turned upside down in the last 10 years.

and their communities, and while these ventures have since developed into multibillion-dollar operations, the importance of family has remained.

This mindset was also reflected in Pineault’s own self-perception. When I ask what Pineault would call his autobiography, he answers humbly, “I would never write an autobiography about myself. The honest reason is because I truly believe everything in my life, particularly my work career and my family, is about team. My family is a team and I consider my whole team here at Mohegan part of my family. I wouldn’t write something about myself because it’s not about me. It’s about what we all do together and what we can accomplish together; how we overcome

our struggles together, how we make advancements together and how we continue to grow and move on together.

“There’s no I in team and I’ve always thought about it as a collaboration and teamwork. I rely on my team and having that great team behind me allows me to accomplish all the things I’ve been able to accomplish, and all the things Mohegan has been able to do has been the result of teamwork.”

As his family grew, so did Pineault’s executive career at Mohegan, despite “never” wanting the job of President, as he had previously stated. Children grew older and circumstances changed; “I was again given the opportunity to advance,” Pineault explains.

After joining the casino sector, Pineault “just progressed up through the chain,” eventually leading to the CEO role. Yet this move was far from instantaneous. For almost five years, between 2015 to 2020, Pineault served as Mohegan Sun’s President and GM, before moving on to Regional President, COO and, eventually, CEO in April 2021. “I’m very thankful to the Tribe for the opportunities they’ve given me,” says Pineault.

Of course, as CEO, Pineault occupies the driver’s seat at Mohegan heads towards its future goals and objectives. In the US, one of those goals is particularly worth asking about.

One of the big topics on the cards for Mohegan at present is its bid for a

land-based casino in New York City. Despite being a Connecticut native, Pineault speaks of his connection and enjoyment of the city, having worked there on three separate occasions. “New York is a fantastic city with a lot of people, a lot of entertainment and a lot of things to do. It is probably my wife’s favorite city on earth,” he says, describing himself as “a big fan” of New York.

So what if Mohegan wins the bid? For Pineault, such a win would be going back to Mohegan’s roots; “It’s from scratch. It’s a green-field opportunity.”

ease, and with Mohegan’s nearly 30 years of experience in hosting Northeastern guests, Pineault knows what he’s doing.

“We know what it’s like to compete in this market and be in this market. We know who the guests are. We know what they’re looking for. I think it would be a perfect complement to be the operator for a New York City property.”

Indeed, with Mohegan Sun reaching ever closer to 30, Pineault is taking on New

Step one for the new property was the design process.

“Thirty years ago, and obviously I came here 24 years ago, Tribes weren’t even thought of, never mind an afterthought, when it came to competing for commercial jurisdictions, new jurisdictions, opening up new properties and developing massive megaresort.” Indeed, 30 years ago, Foxwoods Resort Casino had only been open for two years and Mohegan Sun was still under construction – it was still early days even at the turn of the century when Pineault stepped through the door as attorney for the Tribe.

“Architects are really good at designing pretty pictures. But when the engineers get in there, they’re like, yeah, that doesn’t really work.” After assessing the designs, taking into account regulatory and environmental factors, the design was submitted to the Gaming Facility Location Board’s Request for Applications (RFA), meaning Mohegan “already has an idea of what they're going to build.”

If the bid is successful, next would come step two: Paying what is needed to get started and getting the building team on the ground. “It’s a massive project, a huge undertaking. I am confident in our team that we’ve put together,” says Pineault. Of course, this will also require the team to have access to all the necessary materials and management to guide the project to completion – far from a cheap endeavor, but considering Mohegan’s FY23 revenue of $1.67bn, an expense the operator can handle.

Thirty years ago, Tribes weren’t even thought of, never mind an afterthought when it came to competing for commercial jurisdictions.

“When I first came to Mohegan, we were a one-entity property. In fact, phase two of development, which included our hotel and arena, weren’t done; they were still under construction. Since that time, we’ve done two additional phases at Mohegan Sun, including adding an additional convention center and an additional hotel. We’ve branched out into multiple jurisdictions, and the industry itself continues to evolve and change.”

Indeed, beyond expansion outside of Connecticut, Mohegan became the first Tribal operator to open a property in South Korea last year, with Mohegan Inspire, a foreign-player-only casino located a shuttle bus ride away from Incheon Airport.

But what would a New York venue mean for Mohegan? And what would it mean to Pineault, specifically?

Considering the locations of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, a new venue in New York would complete a triangle of sorts, a “perfect triangle” for property cross-marketing,diversifying amenities and bringing different experiences for guests at each property, as Pineault explains. The proximity would allow guests to explore all three locations with relative

York with some experience under his belt. However, it also provides an opportunity to reflect. After all, had you been told 30 years ago that an out-of-state Tribal operator was bidding for a casino in New York City, following a successful launch in South Korea, would you have believed them?

In Pineault’s words, the Tribe has continued to “look for opportunities to expand their brand to grow and diversify.” It has become a necessity, not only to diversify in terms of jurisdiction but in experiences and revenue streams at Tribal casinos. As Pineault points out, in the last decade especially this expansion has taken place rapidly.

After the codification of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, the industry has continued to grow and grow. Still, even when Pineault came to Mohegan 24 years ago, the Tribal gaming market was far from what it is today.

“The world of Tribal gaming has been turned upside down in the last 10 years. Tribes are flexing their muscle, wherewithal and financial wellbeing to be able to look at other jurisdictions and become commercial operators off of their own reservations.”

And, in this, Mohegan is not alone.

“In the last five to 10 years you can see, whether it’s Poarch Creek, Seminole or some of the Californian Tribes, they really have the

wherewithal. They have backbone. They have the personnel and team to compete with major operators and are formidable. Each Tribe is a formidable operator now and a formidable competition going up against anyone,” remarks Pineault.

we’ve been able to gain, by entering into commercial markets, and obtaining financing from bonds and banks. I’m really proud of what I see going on with Tribes expanding their influence and showing that they’re experienced, well-respected operators.”

“One thing about gaming is it’s becoming very commoditized,” the President & CEO notes. “It’s everywhere in the United States and quite a bit in in Europe. You have to continue to look for opportunities to diversify.”

With Pineault at the helm of one of the industry’s most notable operations, he feels Tribal gaming has well and truly proven its place among commercial operators. “Tribes are true operators and good operators. We’re able to compete with the big boys of the world, whether it's Sands, MGM, Caesars or Penn. We’re able to do that with the knowledge that we’ve gained, with the work we’ve put in, with the financial resources

We want people to be natural, interact with people and have people make that personal connection with our team members – and with our guests.

Despite its growth, Mohegan is not Sands, MGM or Caesars. To Pineault, Mohegan is unique, guided by the ‘Spirit of Aquai.’

Built on the principles of welcoming, mutual respect, cooperation and building relationships, the Spirit of Aquai is the culture of Mohegan, and is a pillar held with upmost importance throughout the Tribe.

“I want our team members to have connections with other team members. I want to make sure they’re able to have the resources they need to do their job. I want to make sure they have opportunities to grow their careers if they’re interested in moving forward; I want to make sure we’re there to support them.” To Pineault, “maintaining our culture and making sure that we act as Mohegan” is key.

Aquai is a greeting in the Mohegan language and informs “how we treat people, how we treat our guests and how we treat our team members,” according to Pineault. The operator opts away from scripted experiences, instead taking on a more natural approach with guests. “I know when you’re in five-star hotels, sometimes you have certain scripts you follow. We don’t do that.

Throughout our conversation, and in retrospect, the Spirit of Aquai is something Pineault expresses continuously. His care for others, in creating community and his welcoming demeanor made our conversation feel like one had between friends.

If the Spirit of Aquai is what it means to act Mohegan, Pineault has certainly embodied it.

BUILDING TRUST

As we sit down with Christopher Hebert, it is clear that his family, his work with the gaming industry, and, unsurprisingly for a regulator, upholding the law are what’s important to him. It can be easy to get lost in any one of these aspects and let it consume you entirely. Although Hebert not only strives to keep them well balanced, he also tries to ensure that everyone is happy about it too. While he’s settled in as the Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board now – the first African American to do so no less—the path to his position wasn’t always an easy one. He tells Gaming America…

“My mother was one of 10 children and she was the first to graduate from college, even though she was not the oldest child”, Hebert explains. “My mother did remarry some years later but, for quite a few years there, I grew up in a single-parent household.”

Despite coming from the small town of New Roads, Louisiana, with a population that peaked at just over 5,000 during the 1990s, Hebert didn’t let this dissuade him from aiming high even from a young age. After moving around during his childhood between New Roads and the state capital Baton Rouge, he eventually moved back to the small town to live with his grandparents while finishing

high school. “That was a great opportunity for me simply because I was able to reconnect with some of my family members,” Hebert, a self-confessed family man illustrates. “Particularly my first cousins, which I had a lot of.”

It was during this time that his hard work paid off in a big way. “I actually won an essay contest,” Hebert says. It may seem like an unlikely beginning for the Chairman of a statewide gaming regulatory Board, but the early effect this had on Hebert was profound. The contest allowed him to go to Washington DC for the first time, and he “remembers the joy on particularly my grandmother’s face.” Hebert’s grandparents had a basic education, dropping out of school around the age of 10 to find work. “It was a very fulfilling time for me, even more so than the trip and the opportunity to go visit our nation’s capital; it was seeing the look on my grandmother's face when I was announced as a winner and got my face in the local paper.”

This was the catalyst for Hebert’s drive to further his education, and Hebert would eventually receive a scholarship through his hard work to attend Louisiana State University. He would go on to work in the US Postal Service while he waited for his wife to graduate college, before he would take his next step and enter law school four years later.

Calling his journey during law school a “very interesting time” feels like an understatement from Hebert. When he entered Southern University Law Center he was freshly married with one newborn. During his second year, however, the family would grow by one with the arrival of his second child. “There were many complications when she was born,” Hebert says. “She was one pound nine ounces. We almost lost her.” During this time, Hebert was travelling to the neo-natal ICU every day, which resulted in many missed classes. After talking with his wife, Hebert “gave very serious consideration to dropping out of law school” – but this is when his professors stepped in. They helped devise a plan to keep him on course, despite him being absent for some daytime lectures until his daughter was stable enough to return home. “I was able to get through a realy difficult semester. So, again, I’m forever indebted to them.”

Hebert would spend his next few years moving between offices as he gained experience in the field. His first job was working for Judge James Best in the 18th Judicial District Court, where he “was able to see the good, the bad and the ugly with regard to how to practice law.” He then spent time with law firm Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams in Metairie, Louisiana. Although, there was only one problem. The commute was an hour each way without traffic – far from ideal with his current family situation. With a wife and two young kids at home, it was hardly fair on anyone that Hebert was spending so long just travelling to and from work. This is when his friend suggested a position at the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office in Baton Rogue. “Before he could tell me anything about the position, I told him I’ll take it.” It was never Hebert’s plan to go into gaming, and as he explains “it could have been in any division in that office, but the opportunity to work closer to home with such a young family was what sold me.” So, almost two decades ago, in 2005, Hebert took his first steps into the industry…

He would eventually accept Landry’s offer to become Director of the Attorney General’s Office Gaming Division, where he would serve until June 30th of this year.

The saying might be ‘never meet your heroes,’ but that wasn’t an issue for Hebert as he accepted an offer to work with Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson of the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2016. It wasn’t until he’d already accepted the position that former Louisiana Attorney General, now Governor, Jeff Landry called Hebert and asked him to stay on at the Attorney General's Office and become Director of the Gaming Division. “I talked it over with my wife and Chief Justice Johnson, who encouraged me to take that position”, Hebert explains.

Even though he very nearly left the industry, Hebert does reflect: “I can’t say enough about how grateful I am to Governor Landry for that opportunity, it was certainly life-altering for me” to become Director. Not only that, but Landry encouraged those in the Division to “think outside the box” and

“foster better relationships with the industry,” which was something desperately needed at the time. Perhaps learning from his role as a father, Hebert realized that the adversarial atmosphere between regulators and operators wouldn’t work if they wanted to create a

GAMING AMERICA |

sustainable connection. So, one of the first things the Division did was hold regular, quarterly meetings with others in the industry, including Tribal gaming commissions, where anyone can air grievances and work through problems.

“One of the things I’m most proud of,” Hebert continues, “was the creation of our problem gambling resource services program” – a direct result of a challenge Attorney General Landry gave to each of the directors. This launched in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of Health but, most importantly, it was at no cost to those needing assistance. “Even prior to the passing of the legislation for sports wagering, one of the things I felt was important was that our citizens in Louisiana become educated about available resources.” If people aren’t exposed to something, they naturally aren’t educated on it. So, by simply opening sportsbooks without any level of support, some people saw this as throwing the US population to the metaphorical wolves.

Louisiana, under Hebert’s guidance, wasn’t about to let that happen. “In Louisiana, for problem gamblers and their families, we have a wonderful residential treatment facility in Shreveport, with plans to build and reopen the facility in the New Orleans area as well.” Indeed, while online support has been effective in reaching more people, this has also led to many resources being pulled

away from in-person support; but not in Louisiana. “We started that program in 2018 and we feel like that program has been a success. It’s allowed me to go out and speak not only within our state, but also all Attorney General's Office, Gaming Division attorneys are trained and go out and educate individuals about that program.”

It’s not just the Louisiana gambling program that Hebert feels passionate speaking publicly about either. In fact, Hebert has traveled the world to discuss the importance of the regulator’s role in responsible gambling, including conferences at ICE London and for the Bahamas Gaming Control Board. “I feel strongly that the regulator should not sit on the sidelines when it comes to problem gambling,” he goes on to explain. “We are, in effect, the ones who carry the big stick.” Rather than ruling with an iron grip, though, Hebert understands the balance needed between an operator and regulator. One cannot have too much power over the other, or the dynamic can become a power struggle. As for how he manages to maintain a “pleasant working relationship,” Hebert adds that “I go around and try to dispel the myths that operators really don’t care about responsible gambling and problem gambling. What I’ve found has been quite the opposite. They do care very much about it – and they’ve been wonderful partners in the efforts, at least that we’ve had in the industry.”

Between the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office and the Louisiana State Police, Gaming Enforcement Division, these agencies have got their eye pretty firmly on the Louisiana gaming ecosystem. “I think there has to be some trust built from the regulator side, and we have to have trust that the operator is genuine and not attempting to pull the wool over our eyes. Conversely, the operator has to have trust in us as well.” When Hebert first started in office, the notion of a ‘partnership’ between regulators and operators was seen as a “really dirty word” and Hebert would “get the slap on the hand” every time he worded it that way. He laughs about it now, though, “I’m happy to say that’s no longer the attitude of the regulators.”

It, too, seems to have changed the attitude of the operators themselves. Hebert explains that, in the past, companies would “assume and ask for forgiveness as opposed to permission” and viewed violations “as a cost of doing business.” It’s an unhealthy outlook for either side. “We don’t have that anymore and I do think it’s as a result of open and honest dialogue,” he continues. “Operators should feel comfortable that you’re going to listen and genuinely listen, because operators bring new ideas to us all the time. We have to build up a trust such that even when there’s something we’re not going to allow, the operator understands that. They understand that we have done our due diligence and that we are going to look at things in the light most favorable to them when we can.”

Among all of the different areas in the gaming industry, one in particular has prospered under the new open dynamic between the two sides. “The lion’s share of gaming revenue in our state comes from our casinos and video poker industry,” with video poker allowed in almost all hospitality-based areas, such as truck stops, bars, restaurants and hotels, as well as off-track betting facilities for racing. As Hebert describes it, video poker has “more of a localized Louisiana feel.” While the casinos in

the state are owned by corporations headquartered elsewhere, “most of our video poker owners are Louisiana residents, and so it gives it more of that hometown feel; there’s a different pride that you see.” In fact, video poker has grown so popular in the state that it’s helped the gaming industry as a whole surpass oil and gas as economic drivers. In June 2024, video poker generated approximately $60.3m in net revenue, or $749.8m when looking at fiscal the year to date. By comparison, land-based casinos in New Orleans brought in approximately $15.2m in gross gaming revenue, while mobile and retail sports betting had approximately $26.2m in net proceeds for the month of June.

“As I see it, we’re charged with making sure gaming is free from criminal and corrupt elements in our state; but in addition to that, we also have a responsibility to ensure our state is making revenue from gaming.” Hebert is very upfront about using gaming as means to support everyone involved, the businesses, the state, but also the workers. During the Covid-19 pandemic and its

enforced shutdown, the Gaming Division realized that behind-the-scenes workers, such as those who care for the horses, would’ve “been left out on the street” if they didn’t step in. “We had to come up with a compromise that was amicable for all sides in that issue. But there are many issues that people don’t think about, ancillary to actual gaming, that we have to navigate and deal with. We work with our operators all the time on those issues.”

So what happens when an industry feels seen enough to come forward with its problems? Well, let’s return to the video poker industry from earlier. Nothing shakes up a market quite like a new competitor, and that’s exactly what happened when the Louisiana Legislature and voters in 55 of the Louisiana's 64 parishes legalized sports wagering in the state in 2021. This didn’t just excite potential players, but “it caused the different segments of our gaming industry to start to think of innovative ways to stay in the game, if you will”, Hebert says. Video poker companies approached him with a few different ideas of how they could modernize

It’s my sincere hope that someone who may be out there who does not think they can aspire to do this –and it doesn’t necessarily have to be this position, but a position like this – that it gives someone out there some sort of hope.

their products and make them competitive against the changing industry. “They wanted to modernize their video poker screens and so we allowed them to have certain bells and whistles on those screens for entertainment purposes only. Where they are running into difficulties, we look for solutions that are beneficial to all involved,” Hebert explains. “It doesn’t always work out that way, but that is what we’re going to always attempt to do.”

It seems like a terribly straightforward idea on paper to get the industry you work with closest to cooperate with you on a professional level; but in the real world, that’s no easy feat. It’s the working dynamic many people can only dream of, especially when they’re on two opposing sides – as regulators and operators naturally are. So how did Hebert and his team manage it? “Again, it’s a testament to the faith that the Governor has in me.” Rather than coming through the Louisiana State Police, like many Chairmen before him, Hebert climbed the ladder almost entirely through the legal side. Rather than perceiving this as a potential disadvantage, though, Hebert understands that it works in his favor, “I think I’ll bring a little bit of a different perspective being that I’m coming from all aspects of gaming.”

How does a perspective born and bred in the industry differ from one forged in law enforcement? According to Hebert, it’s helped immensely in being able to tackle issues head-on in a way that seems constructive, rather than potentially confrontational. “What I have found is that, if you talk about those things on the frontend, it makes it a lot easier to deal with any issues that may come up on the backend regarding licensing or whatever those issues may be.” Again, this ties back to something being easy on paper. Rather than shying away from difficult or uncomfortable conversations, however, Hebert believes it’s in everyone’s best interests to simply have them out in the open. “It just doesn’t make sense to me to stonewall our operators and to have them go figure things out, because I certainly know that makes it more difficult.”

CHRISTOPHER HEBERT | GAMING AMERICA |

Hebert continues, “We really have encouraged our operators, or any of our stakeholders in gaming, to come and speak to us about any issues they may foresee or any questions they may have.” This is all well and good, of course, until a company relies on that trust and comes forward with an idea that doesn’t get passed. It can be easy for this to rock the foundations, no matter how much good will has been built, especially if there isn’t a particularly illegal reason for the idea to be dismissed.

You would assume a regulator would have a good reason for refusing a proposition, as long as it’s perfectly legal and doesn’t infringe on any compliance issues, right? Unfortunately, that’s not exactly the case. “Sometimes it’s as simple as – and I’ve also heard this from colleagues in jurisdictions across the country – sometimes states don’t want to be first to pass something new.” Even though it’s a discouraging answer, Hebert doesn’t shy away from the truth. It’s this level of openness he’s encouraged throughout his career, and it’s incredibly refreshing. “They would rather see something in operation in another jurisdiction. It’s a delicate balance to strike between looking at things in the best light of the operator and ensuring the integrity of the game. As long as the operator knows you are giving them a fair shake and that you have sound reasoning, I think everybody’s okay with those results.”

Baton Rouge, one of the riverboat casinos has transitioned into a landside casino facility and given the docking space to Viking Cruises, so that “when those passengers dock, the first thing they see is a casino. That’s going to be an economic driver in Baton Rouge.”

When something does get passed, though, it doesn’t get handled flippantly. For example, following extensive discussions, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board suggested that riverboat casinos should be brought onshore. This wasn’t just because of safety concerns, but also for the economic development of gaming in Louisiana. “Amenities are extremely important for casinos nowadays,” Hebert reasons. “If you look at places like Las Vegas, you know that many of these properties are making more money from their amenities than they are from the actual gaming. So it was high time for us to allow something similar in Louisiana.” Not only will completing landside moves allow for more improvements to take place, but also new opportunities to flourish. In

Coming from a small town in Louisiana, then, to overseeing the entire gaming industry across the Pelican State, how does Hebert reflect on his whole journey? “It was not my life’s goal to become the Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board”, he laughs. “It is purely as a result of hard work and dedication in this industry and others are taking note of that. Regarding being the first African American Chairman, I look upon that as both an extremely high honor, but also an enormous responsibility.” These aspects are widely recognized too. When Chief Justice Johnson offered Hebert the position with her office, she said, “I’ve been watching you, and you’re not a 9-to-5 lawyer. You’re out there in the community.” Hebert reflects fondly on this: “That was really a lesson for me, because none of what I was doing was for that reason. But you never know when someone is paying attention to what you’re doing and someone as prominent as she is may be watching. You may have some child somewhere watching, I certainly have my childhood heroes who I watched; specifically, my PTO President at school, Freddie Pitcher,

who ultimately ended up serving as a Judge at the time, Judge Pitcher was my first introduction to the legal world and was an inspiration to me.”

Not being content with just regulating games of chance and supporting a family, Hebert has served in various roles, from coaching kids, particularly in underprivileged areas, to serving on the minority bar board and overseeing community activities. “I’m a true believer in community and giving back to the community.”

Hebert doesn’t just hope to give time and resources back to the community, either. “It’s my sincere hope that someone who may be out there who does not think they can aspire to do this – and it doesn’t necessarily have to be this position, but a position like this –that it gives someone out there some sort of hope.” If anything, Hebert’s journey to becoming Chair of the Board isn’t simply a professional achievement or a testament to his hard work, but it gives the opportunity to provide something so much more than his legal expertise. “I can only hope I can be that inspiration to not only my children, but to some child that is out there looking for that inspiration again. I came from a single-parent home. Unfortunately, my father was not there as much as I needed him to be, but there were other role models in the community that I could look to. Hopefully., I can be that for someone else.”

LIFE IS A ROLLERCOASTER

Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort CEO Laura Penney walks Gaming America through her journey of over 30 years at the Tribal property, always striving and persevering to become CEO – even after several setbacks.

Coming up on hole 17 of the Circling Raven Golf Club in northern Idaho, visitors will take notice of two nesting eagles that go by the names of Gracie and George, long-term residents of the property. In some ways, the multi-year lease Gracie and George have managed to secure symbolizes the values and traditions the resort strives to emulate, even after three decades have passed since its inception.

Behind the operations of Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort is CEO Laura Penney, an enrolled Tribal member who grew up having these lessons instilled in her at an early age. Penney began her life as any Coeur d’Alene member would, picking huckleberries with her mother and grandmother, attending powwows and learning the ways in which her Tribe was unique in its own standing. While this life would be described as off-the-grid by many, Penney never took notice of her situation, having only been taught to treasure the same values that are passed down to current generations today.

Penney’s story goes through a journey of perseverance, balancing her goals with the responsibilities of also being a mother and using the lessons firmly ingrained within her to help navigate challenges such as being the first casino resort to open during Covid-19. Three failed attempts at earning the CEO title did nothing to deter her goals of improving her community just as she had when she originally joined the property 31

years prior, being among the first to help bring gaming to the area.

From her property starting as a bingo hall to becoming a full-fledged destination offering, Penney has been a constant throughout Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort’s history and is already planning towards ensuring its success long after she is gone. Moving between positions in marketing, tourism and public relations, no one is better equipped to oversee the resort’s ongoing attempts to remain true to the history of Coeur d’Alene people while, at the same time, driving success on a business level.

She tells Gaming America : “My father always taught me that, if you take care of the Tribe, the Tribe will take care of you. It’s not just about you, it’s about our Tribe and carrying on what has been given to us as Coeur d’Alene people. It’s my responsibility to not only pass on our culture, but provide for the Tribe now and for the next generations to come.”

GROWING UP COEUR D’ALENE

Penney began her life attempting to understand what it meant to be a Coeur d’Alene Tribal member, mainly through the lessons her father and grandmother passed down to her. “He served on Tribal council for most of his life, most of my life. Having that value system instilled, working for the Tribe and looking towards the betterment for the next generations to come, that has always

been part of me. It’s almost innate. My father always told me to go out and get your education, but to then come back and work for your Tribe.”

Throughout her upbringing, Penney said attempting to capture her father’s approval was one of the motivating forces that drove her. While it is still an achievement Penney continues to worry about even as the CEO of a resort with over 30 years of history behind it, she does believe it is on a “much healthier level” now. As her father prepared her for contributing to the Coeur d’Alene people as an adult, her grandmother was the source from where Penney learned what it meant to be part of the Tribe and its values. She was taught how to speak the Coeur d’Alene language and honor the traditions that have been long withstanding throughout the reservation’s history.

“I didn’t know that we were pretty much living off the grid and that we lived very organically in that we caught crawdads in the river to eat, we ate trout also. In the morning, we picked huckleberries and my grandmother loved her camas in the spring and fall, so we would go out and dig some canvas together.”

While some lessons went over her head as an adolescent, certain teachings still stick with Penney as she constantly looks back upon her upbringing since becoming CEO. “All the

CEO SPECIAL - LAURA PENNEY | GAMING AMERICA

while growing up, your parents, your grandparents, they tell you things you may not even understand. But today, I heed their advice. I reference back to what my grandmother always told me, ‘don’t take the bad too bad, or the good too good.’ I didn’t know what the heck she was talking about back then, but now, I use that every day.”

Penney also remembers how original frustration felt towards her father has now blossomed into the guidance she needed once her professional career began.

“My father also told me growing up, ‘you can be guilty by association.’ I used to get so upset, believing he was just trying to deprive me of having fun or hanging out with my cool friends, but today I find myself using that exact phrase.

“Life is a rollercoaster, business is certainly a rollercoaster, but you have to not overreact. As a leader, that’s so important. I’ve embraced those words and used what my father said every day now. Being able to sustain

our livelihood has helped towards preparing me to work with the casino.”

Over three decades ago, the Coeur d’Alene reservation was deciding whether the inclusion of a gaming offering would be beneficial to the future of the Tribe. As a small reservation of close to 800 members, a committee was put

together to decide on the future of gaming for the Tribe, with Penney being included as one of the original decision makers.

“We had no concept of gaming whatsoever. Being on that committee and looking into it at the time, there were just bingo halls and charity bingo halls. We visited the Colville Tribe facility to learn about their operations, but then we heard about the Oneida Tribe in Green Bay, Wisconsin where there was a full-fledged casino resort. We visited their property as well and came back excited about the future opportunities.”

Alongside former CEO Dave Matheson, Penney helped bring a bingo hall to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in March of 1993. The reservation was backed by seasonal workers, no more than 100 working at the bingo hall during this period. When the Tribe finally opened its doors in the midst of snowy conditions, the warmth of excited hopefuls immediately pouring into the 1,000-seat space quickly filled them with eagerness.

Matheson used his experience with the US Government, specifically the Department of the Interior, to secure a $2.9m loan needed to build the property, with a 15-year note included. Matheson, Penney and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe were able to pay back the loan in just three years.

From there, business escalated to the point where they began adding gaming machines as well, building upon the success it had achieved in the short time since the bingo hall was first opened. Penney continued to gain experience within the gaming industry,

Penney decided it was the right time for her to throw her hat in the mix to potentially become CEO after 12 years of working for the Tribe.

WHAT MORE CAN I DO?

While her first attempt at becoming CEO was self-described as “for the novelty of it,” Penney began to believe she could one day obtain the experience necessary to run the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort. She moved into the communications department, as well as public relations and culture and tourism. As Culture and Tourism Director, Penney sought ways to integrate the history of her Tribe into an expanding resort while also staying true to its original identity.

“People like to hear stories and there is a story here to tell. As Coeur d’Alene Tribal people, we are unique in our culture and our name, so we try to share that information. People tend to associate Tribes with casinos, but I say we’re a Tribe with a casino, not the other way around. We’ve always tried to incorporate our culture into our decor and into our customer service models. This was taking it to another level, where we began educating and informing others as to who we are, what we’re doing and what we’re about.”

As she continued to gain knowledge within multiple sectors of the resort, Penney went for the CEO position a second time, seeing an opportunity to prove her investment in Coeur d’Alene would pay dividends if she were to assume an executive role. She was denied again, however, and was left wondering what

Life is a rollercoaster, business is certainly a rollercoaster, but you have to not overreact. As a leader, that’s so important.

more she could do to be seen as a future leader in the area from which she was raised.

“I spoke with the council members and just asked, ‘What do I have to do to be CEO?’ I thought I would be a fairly good CEO and had gained support from some fellow employees, so I got more serious about it. I have all this gaming experience, I’m a Tribal member, I’m vested, I’m engaged, but they said you need your MBA.

“It was very difficult, but I had an intention and it was what I had to do. Part of my plan was to complete my Masters of Business Administration while working and raising my two daughters,” Penney explained. “I had to relearn and adjust my whole schedule. Everything was just focused on that degree. I had no social life and it was a lot of work. It was hard work.”

On the car ride home returning from her first day at the University of Idaho, Penney called her sister crying, ready to move on from her goal and accept she would never become CEO. Like her older relatives, her sister provided the guidance necessary to keep Penney moving, not allowing herself to become intimidated by the task in front of her.

“If you let yourself become intimidated, you begin to open up the possibility of defeating your own motivation. I learned I had to take it one day at a time and stop looking at everything all at once. Do your work, keep chugging forward, that’s what my sister told me and I was able to do that in the end. It was amazing, very difficult, but I wanted to exemplify to my daughters that if I can do it, they can do it.”

On her final day of class, Penney once again called her sister crying, but this time out of the happiness it felt to finally accomplish the goal that would lead her to become CEO. She had gotten her MBA, she was raised Coeur d’Alene and she had been working in the industry for over a decade. Nothing could stop her now on a third attempt to be hired for the role.

Except she didn’t get it. A third failed attempt despite all of the value Penney knew she brought forward for the property. As most would, Penney became angry and

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distraught, asking herself what more there was to possibly do for her to become CEO. In what may have been a callback to the advice her father passed down to her throughout childhood, she tried to remember what her responsibilities as a Coeur d’Alene Tribal member were and the investment she had made up to that point.

Having told herself she had given too much to the Tribe and the Resort, Penney used the time after her third failed attempt to try and understand that perhaps it just wasn’t her moment yet. It didn’t mean she had to give up, it meant she had to keep chugging, because although she didn’t know it at the time, she would soon be looked towards to guide the property through its most difficult period to date.

property she had become CEO of less than six months prior.

“It was eerie. I understand the full relevance as to why we’re in operation is to provide revenue and jobs, so to see an empty parking lot and an empty gaming floor was scary. Some other casinos actually turned off their machines and ran into many issues because of that. We did not turn our machines off thankfully, but we ran into other crazy issues.

“Our sewer plant wasn’t flowing which led to us getting creative, I think we put some rabbit food to feed the bugs and make sure it was being maintained. We had to decide as far as how many people to keep on staff. We still needed security, we still needed some surveillance and it was just strange times overall having been there from the beginning.”

In October of 2019, in her fourth and final try, Penney became CEO of Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort. She had accomplished her dream, now in charge of the property she had helped build from a single bingo hall into the destination it stands as today. As the Winter months approached, Penney could now look to move forward with her plans of improving the resort and possibly even work on her golf game once the spring season came back around in 2020.

Then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort shut its doors for the first time in over 30 years of operation. As an original member of the committee that brought gaming to the reservation, Penney was forced to walk the empty floors of the

The closing of her resort only fueled Penney with the determination to find a way to reopen its doors and welcome guests back as quickly, and safely, as possible. Taking a page out of the beginning of her career memoir, Penney and the Tribal council of Coeur d’Alene formed a task force committee meant to meet weekly, if not almost daily, to discuss how they would respond to the pandemic.

Eventually, it was decided that they would reopen to the public, as the data and analytics the task force had overseen showed mitigated risk as compared to other areas in the country, and Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort became the first property to open its doors while Covid-19 was ongoing. Penney remembers snow flying through the air, just as it had during the opening of the original bingo hall, as she welcomed guests back to

If you let yourself become intimidated, you begin to open up the possibility of defeating your own motivation.

her destination, still wearing protective masks but excited to return to some resemblance of normal life. Although Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort had set a historical mark, it left the space, and the woman behind its operations, open to scrutiny.

“People asked me, ‘did you make a point to be the first to open?’ We had to consider the scrutiny, as there was some concern that we were being greedy and not being very thorough, but that was not the case. It was a matter of how important it was that we provide for ourselves and allow others to work. We knew that all eyes were on us, so it was very stressful but I had to provide strong, stable leadership during that time.”

Behind the results and examinations the task force had completed, as well as the number of highly progressive medical facilities and medical professionals Coeur d’Alene contains, Penney stood her ground and brought business back to her reservation. She even attempted to bring others with her, not wanting to see competition fall despite the advantages being the only operational casino resort in the country was displaying.

“Everyone said ‘go ahead, go ahead. You know we’re not ready. Our council is not ready. We’re concerned.’ We totally understood, but I really respect our Tribal leadership and the bravery they had to say ‘we can do this.’ Having no competition was really nice for a minute, we had record numbers, but we were also sure to tell marketing to make sure you get all their information because perhaps they had never heard of us. If they had a great experience, let’s keep them coming back. We’ve tried to hang on to those people who came in from different states, even from the Midwest, and a few of them are still coming here post-Covid thankfully.”

As normalcy returned to the gaming and hospitality industry, the resort saw competition rise once again, but plans for expansion could also be underway sooner rather than later. Penney spoke on flashy, new competitors, but also how she is responsible for ensuring her property is

CEO SPECIAL - LAURA PENNEY | GAMING AMERICA

always keeping pace with those around it.

“We are a mature property. I’m looking at adding another hotel wing, as well as freshening up some of our older wings and perhaps even building a new RV park. I would say I have a three-phase plan that I’ve yet to bring to our Tribal council for approval, but I hope to do that by the end of next month. We also have to maintain our freshness and look to bring in new groups of people as well.”

Penney stated she will look to combine the new amenities with the surrounding area where Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort resides. Described as a “great escape,” some are disillusioned into believing the resort is well off the beaten path; but really the property stands only 30 minutes away from its primary market, featuring rolling hills, tall pine trees and a creek that supports the natural wildlife surrounding Coeur d’Alene. While she does admit the location can hurt business at times, she still believes the getaway offers a “homespun family atmosphere” that will continue to entice guests for years to come.

In regards to the future, Penney talked about how a former mentor left a lasting piece of advice with her that she currently works towards fulfilling each day. Having been told “when you leave, make sure you can say you did your best to leave it in a good place,” Penney is now looking to build a program that will assist Tribal members such as herself in becoming executives and obtain other high-level roles within the reservation.

“I’m not going to be here forever. So I think it’s important that we support and educate our young ones to fill these positions. We have some bright prospects here. There is a member who started out in marketing and now got his master’s degree. He is working in hospitality, becoming well rounded and while he’s still young, I think he could be great in my position one day.

“There’s also a lady who is currently working with our Gaming Director as well. When we were without a Gaming Director for over a year, she really stepped up. She’s put in the time, doing the analytics on the machines and gaining confidence. One day

soon she’ll be our Gaming Director and I think she’s just doing amazing. We have a lot of potential superstars in place who could be leading our future.”

One of the main reasons why the Tribe opened the facility in the first place, Penney stated, was to provide jobs, help seniors and children, and generate the funds needed to buy back land from within the reservation. She also explained how, as a CEO, she is of course expected to generate high revenues and stay innovative in how she grows the business but also maintain a good environment for her employees and customers.

Penney also feels the added responsibilities of being one of the very few females to hold a title such as hers in the gaming and hospitality industries, especially for Tribal properties. In dealing with this added pressure, though, she still looks at how much growth there has been as she continues to be joined by more and more women establishing their names in a maledominated space.

“When I first started, there were hardly any lady Tribal CEOs. Thankfully, I’m seeing more now and I’m excited to see that grow as we have much to contribute. I think we have every right to be at that table. We have a voice, a mind and a heart to take things in a different way and manner at times. We’re very collaborative as well, not to say that

men are not, but I think that there’s an opportunity for us to get out there and represent Tribal women in these industries.”

She also continues to fight the same issues her ancestors faced, such as maintaining the Coeur d’Alene land, providing clean water and protecting the Tribe’s identity and culture. Through the perseverance and tenacity Native Americans have shown throughout history, Penney believes her community can continue to maintain a strong balance between its businesses and protecting its people. While plenty of opportunities remain for Tribal gaming, the Coeur d’Alene CEO will always put her Tribe first, remaining true to what her father instilled upon her.

“It’s important to stay up on technology and the relationships between the states and the Tribes as those can be very turbulent and at times act as a barrier as to what we could do or should be doing. It’s important that we recognize what we can do within our capacity to benefit our Tribe in a credible manner, then set forth that path and strategy so we can turn around and educate our legislatures or Governor as well.

“There are plenty of great opportunities and we are proper in how we go about pursuing those. I think the future is bright. As Coeur d’Alene people, we’ve always been here and we will always be here to build towards the future of our reservation.”

AN ENTREPRENEUR'S EYE

The Fanatics brand has been recognizable across sports for a number of years, predominantly building its name as one of the most popular providers and producers of sports merchandise for supporters of all professional and collegiate teams. Under the guidance of Betting and Gaming CEO Matt King, however, Fanatics has grown to establish itself as a major player not only in clothing and apparel, but in the sports betting industry as well. Having been the leader behind strategies that helped FanDuel become an industry giant, King joined Fanatics with the hope of reclaiming an entrepreneurial interest that has been a driving factor throughout his career.

He tells Gaming America: “For me, it was an exciting and unique opportunity because, one, it allowed me to go back to entrepreneurial roots and then, two, it was really the best company to realize my original idea of how to create a digital sports platform,” King explained. The North Carolina State graduate spent years building experience in a variety of fields, before ultimately discovering a calling in the sports business. His journey has taken him across numerous industries, slowly accumulating the knowledge that has allowed the Fanatics Sportsbook to expand across 22 states at the time of writing and nearly 95% of the addressable markets in the US.

Through roles that brought him in front of mentors that helped him flourish into the executive he is today, King’s story doesn’t just involve how he came to join the Fanatics family, but also how the sports betting industry has evolved into the goliath it stands as today.

From an early age, King has had an eye for growing businesses from the ground up, even though his childhood may never have raised an interest in sports specifically.

Having entered college as a mechanical engineering and economics major at North Carolina State, King quickly discovered his interest in the field was waning, but the experience was something he could build upon to find a new path. He finished school at North Carolina State and went to work for McKinsey and Company in Chicago in the consulting firm’s analyst program. “That was a standard tour of duty at the time, handling everything from farm equipment to insurance for my clients. There was lots of great learning, though I also realized I didn’t quite love being a consultant, and found an opportunity to join the operating group at KKR as they were building that out.”

King joined Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) with the chance to help build the investment firm’s business line and assist in a number of operational issues. He also grew the company’s business development platform, which now stands as one of the largest in the world.

King spent the next 11 years continuing his work with KKR’s portfolio, establishing his presence in the industry and working in

glimpses with various sectors of sports and the business behind it. It was those brief run-ins, however, that eventually brought him to FanDuel’s doorstep while the operator was still in its early stages of development. “We had done some work in sports, but I found myself really intrigued by the business of sports. In 2014, I had a belief consumers were going to begin expecting sports to be delivered in the same streaming perspectives they’ve seen with all these other categories.”

King joined the FanDuel team as CFO and began to execute a strategy that would align with his beliefs that the operator could play a role in what he foresaw as a disruption in sports betting. While his plans would prove highly successful, it also led to some pushback from those who oversaw the regulation of sports betting in significant markets.

“I was introduced to the FanDuel guys when it was still small, only 50 people and $20m in revenue. We thought we had an opportunity to play a really interesting role in that disruption that could be coming to the sports industry.

I loved the business and so I jumped at the opportunity to be CFO. During my time as CFO, we experienced a

hyper growth from $20m in revenue to $120m as well as large capital raises. Then, obviously there was the big DFS war of 2015 that ultimately led to regulatory scrutiny. I played a role with FanDuel and the rest of the team, navigating the regulatory crisis and standing up to the lobbying apparatus.”

In November of 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed an injunction against both DraftKings and FanDuel, alleging the operators constituted online sports wagering and were therefore illegal under state law. Scheiderman’s argument rested on the notion that wagering money on outcomes players have no control over, such as sports games, had been outlawed in New York since 1894.

“stay of the injunction,” returning DFS to the same standing it had been in just hours prior to Mendez’s ruling.

On December 11 2015, New York Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez decided to grant Schneiderman’s request and effectively forced daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators like FanDuel out of the state. Later that day, though, an appellate court granted a

After the stay was issued, King and the rest of the FanDuel team he had gone to war with indicated that it would be reentering the New York market after departing in the wake of the cease-and-desist letters issued by Schneiderman. The company had won the battle, and King began to look towards a transaction that could have changed the sports betting industry as consumers currently understand it today.

On November 18 2016, FanDuel and DraftKings 2016,

You looked at it and you said the sports betting industry could be 100 times bigger than the DFS business could ever be.

announced their intent to merge in a deal that would’ve given the duo control of the vast majority of the DFS market. After the merger was signed while King was CFO, King later departed FanDuel for personal reasons, but would return one year later after an opportunity to serve an even larger role within the company came forward; by this time the merger was called off.

In March 2019, a FanDuel Sportsbook opened at Valley Forge Casino Resort in Pennsylvania, too. King also began leading the operator during the expansion of its online offering into a number of different states. In December 2020, Flutter announced that it had increased its stake in FanDuel Group to 95% in a $4.1bn cash-and-stock deal.

“Once the merger got signed, I actually left for a year, more for personal reasons than anything else. When my wife and I moved back to Chicago, I took a brief sojourn into the exciting world of commercial insurance. But I really missed the sports industry and, frankly, felt like the job was unfinished. I had the opportunity to come back after the merger with DraftKings broke down to be the CEO of FanDuel.”

to FanDuel, the Supreme Court heard the PASPA case and it became apparent that sports betting might be an industry in the US. You looked at it and you said the sports betting industry could be 100 times bigger than the DFS business could ever be. So my plan in the first year as CEO was really about creating a strategy that allowed FanDuel to be a top player in sports betting. My view was we really needed to make sure we had the best product in the market, and that took us to the deal with Flutter which we did in 2018.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had taken notice of the same market share statistics that many in the sports betting industry had seen, as well, and therefore sought a preliminary injunction to block the proposed merger. The transaction was terminated shortly after the FTC became involved, but a ruling that would soon follow paved the way for a sports betting boom. As FanDuel’s new CEO, King was ready to take command of the company that would quickly begin to expand as the industry around it grew exponentially.

“I had a lot of excitement about where I thought we could take the business. Sports betting wasn’t really on the horizon when I took the job, but shortly after I got back

Heading into 2021, FanDuel was rapidly becoming one of the biggest sports betting operators in the US and King had felt accomplished in that he completed the mission he had originally set out to oversee. The job was finished; by the fourth quarter of 2021, FanDuel would report a market share of around 40%, maintaining the hold it has among the industry ever since. While his leadership had taken the operator to heights only King had possibly believed were imaginable, his interest in entrepreneurship led him to meet with one of the most recognizable figures in the sports business.

In May 2018, Paddy Power Betfair, which rebranded to Flutter Entertainment (Flutter, the industry giant we all know today) just over a year later, announced its intent to acquire FanDuel as part of an effort to bolster the company’s assets in the US following the overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

As part of the acquisition, Flutter paid $158m and merged its existing operations in the US into FanDuel, to form the FanDuel Group.

“From there, we took a great brand and a really strong team, combined it with the assets Flutter had in the US along with its global risk and trading, and aggressively pushed FanDuel into becoming the number one player in sports by a significant margin.”

Days after the merger was completed, FanDuel opened its first branded sportsbook at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey.

“After that, Michael Rubin approached me about potentially building a gaming business under the Fanatics brand. For me, it was an exciting and unique opportunity because, one, it allowed me to go back to entrepreneurial roots and then, two, it was really the best company to realize my original idea of how to create a digital sports platform. Michael is the consummate entrepreneur. The great thing about him is he weighs in and gets engaged, too. He can add a lot of value, but otherwise he lets me run and build the business, which has just been an amazing experience. The assets that exist in the Fanatics ecosystem really are unparalleled. What I say to a lot of people is there’s no good idea I’ve had where we haven’t had the assets, the resources and the connections.”

While his time with FanDuel was a self-described “crash course” in how to run a digital business, a new sense of direction had entered King’s life as he found a chance to build something from the ground up and be a zero to 100 entrepreneur. Now he was able to take the lessons learned from FanDuel’s growth and apply them to Fanatics’ newest venture.

GAMING AMERICA | CEO SPECIAL

“I think the big thing I learned at FanDuel, or the big philosophy I adopted, is there’s a real risk in digital businesses that you can become over-reliant on optimisations and find yourself not doing enough to innovate or transform the business. We did a lot of things right, we made a lot of mistakes and I learned a lot about scaling companies in that way. A lot of people say that’s what is great about a digital business: I can beta test everything or I can have facts and data everywhere, but fundamentally if you think about the biggest opportunities or breakout product ideas or business models, you can’t really estimate what it’s worth on a piece of paper.”

rapidly expanding industry, King’s experience would end up paying dividends for Fanatics Betting and Gaming in finding a healthy balance. “In a world where you can’t estimate what something’s worth, oftentimes, organizations default to focusing on things they can quantify. As an aggregate organization, you end up investing less in things that can really transform your business.

expands with the consumer base the company continues to accumulate. It is perhaps not dissimilar to FanDuel and DraftKings’ original model of turning fantasy players into sports bettors.

King began to find ways to tie the already popular Fanatics brand into the industry he had become ingrained in. In his attempts to build out the digital sports platform he’d been envisioning since his time with FanDuel, King also wanted to offer something that would change how fans could experience sports. “In an age of disruption in sports, how do you create a digital property that sits at the center of what sports fans do and makes the fan experience better? Fanatics is the company that’s best positioned to do that from a brand perspective, league relationships and from a player-based perspective.”

The plan was to use the Fanatics ecosystem to connect its existing consumers with the possibility of being able to experience sports differently within the same platform. In a

“So one of the things I learned is to create an organizational framework that allows space and encourages the risk-taking that’s necessary to work on something that could be transformational, while also still running and constantly improving the business day to day. Ultimately, again, the best businesses are ones that have a healthy balance between investing in marketing and investing in the brand, and other sectors that are harder to measure.”

As King slowly learned how to balance what had made Fanatics into a popular global sports brand, he found a way to connect those existing users to his sector of the company. Indeed, he came to realize that the database Fanatics had already generated would be the way in which he could improve the experience of any Fanatics customer. Turning their purchases into rewards and keeping them within the Fanatics family of businesses became a loyalty program that

“What we’ve built together are features such as the identity layer, how you log in and access the Fanatics ecosystem. We have a common loyalty currency called FanCash. Those have to work across the whole ecosystem because that’s what the fans are going to expect. I think we’ve found a pretty good balance between ‘how do you, from a business operations and organizational perspective, recruit the best and create the best entrepreneurial environments where they can continue pushing their own businesses forward?’ Where we’ve really differentiated is our loyalty and rewards program. If you look at the ability to earn up to 10% back in FanCash on every bet you make, the experiences we can deliver to our users that nobody else can, they’re truly differentiated.”

Now, King had the product he could say he had built from zero to 100 and, in a short time, Fanatics Betting and Gaming would grow to address nearly every possible market in the US. Market share in the sports betting industry continues to be dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel, but King worries less about chasing the two operators and instead focuses on nurturing the product he and Rubin are still perfecting to this day. In terms of how he believes Fanatics Betting and Gaming is faring against the two companies, King chooses to point out how his product has risen to join the very best of what the industry currently offers. He also looks at how Fanatics offers advantages that companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel may not be able to bring to the table.

“From a product perspective, I think we’re in the big leagues, so to speak. I think from a size perspective, we’re still relatively small, but our view in our ethos is all about capital efficiency. Slow and steady wins the race in our mind. We can speak to sports fans as a sports brand, whereas the other operators in the category have to speak as what they

are, gaming brands. That allows us a different relationship with our users than some of the other brands in the market will have.”

Regarding the competition Fanatics has seen depart the US market, such as Kindred, 888/Evoke, Fox Bet, Fubo and more, King continues to emphasize what companies need to put attention towards if competing with the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings is to ever become possible. “To try to compete against FanDuel and DraftKings with an inferior product …I would argue no one to date has been able to do that. That’s been the thing that has evolved over time because, in the early days of the market, a not-as-good product could still take share because people would spend a lot of money on marketing or bonus. But as the market has matured, we’re in a world where you really need to have a product that’s on par with FanDuel and DraftKings.

“The common through line for a lot of the exits is they didn’t have a product that was at parity with FanDuel and DraftKings, and then they spent a lot of money trying to have the marketing overcome that. I’d say the other thing is ultimately that this is a big market. It’s a massive opportunity, but it takes a lot of capital to really make a play. So I think the people that tried to do it on the edges, or on a relatively modest budget, it’s just really hard.”

King chose to focus on building a product sports fans could use to create a unique experience in various sectors of the sports industry, and the payoff has been incredible expansion within only a 13-month timeframe.

The Fanatics sportsbook is now in 22 states at the time of writing, and Fanatics Betting and Gaming has expanded to offer Fanatics Casino as well. In what was an incredibly rapid rollout, King and his team went to work and executed a growth strategy that has made Fanatics into a company that can create a better experience for sports fans in a multitude of ways.

In an age of disruption in sports,

how do you create a digital property that sits at the center of what sports fans do and makes their experience better?

(leaving Canada and Australia to remain with PointsBet). The acquisition would take its time in reaching the final stages, but Fanatics managed to complete the deal by April 2024, and began sorting its new additions in sports betting, personnel and iGaming, without having to change the identity King had formed in short order.

In May of 2023, Fanatics made its first major transaction in the sports betting industry, announcing a $225m acquisition of PointsBet US and its operations within the country

“With PointsBet, that created a unique opportunity for us to not change our strategy. It really just bought assets that helped us accelerate our plan.”

Fanatics was, and currently still is, undergoing continued expansion that will assist in building the relationships King believes are necessary to create a recognizable footprint across all sports. Product, loyalty and experience, these are the keys King has kept with him ever since joining Fanatics in 2021, and defines the growth Fanatics Betting and Gaming has seen since birth. Keeping an eye on improvement could be what sets Fanatics Betting and Gaming apart for as long as King is at the helm.

“The feedback we’ve gotten from users has been amazingly positive. They love what we’re doing with the product. They love what we’re doing with the loyalty proposition. And so we’re never going to have some moment where we decide to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing in one campaign, like a lot of the competition has. This is simply about building the best product and best customer experience, then slowly, over time, grow as a business. We’re in this for the long game. This is a 10-year build in our mind, and we’re only about three years in.”

While being only three years into a 10-year plan may not seem as if the journey is anywhere near complete, many operators could become complacent with the expansion King has overseen in the past number of months. Fanatics, however, continues to look towards the ample opportunity that still lies within the sports betting industry, and the motivation to grow its brand remains at where it stood from day one. It’s a position competitors like ESPN Bet will most likely share, too.

“Sitting here today, though, the core thesis is actually the exact same. What we thought would work is working, and I’m more convinced than ever that we have a massive, unique opportunity to build a digital sports platform that spans everything a sports fan does, and makes their experience easier and better. For me, it’s super encouraging that, three years in, we’re still just as passionate as we were on the day we started it.”

King may not have grown up a true sports fan, but his first love in business is something that many different sports franchises can relate to. Just as many teams build foundations that lead to reaching the pinnacle of its respective sport, King eventually came to find his foundation and the right people that led him to success. Any winning formula has the correct balance and combination of support, experience and strategy. For King, he has managed to find all three with his Fanatics family, and will look to always pursue the dream he’s had since the first stages of his career.

GAMING AMERICA | CEO SPECIAL - PAUL BURNS

A VOICE FOR THE INDUSTRY

Paul Burns sits down with Will Underwood to discuss how his early passion for politics led him to Las Vegas, as well as the challenges – and privileges – of being the voice of the Canadian gaming industry.

As challenges go, pioneering a singular national voice for one of the fastest developing industries of the 20th century is one that certainly takes some rising to. Yet, when discussing the gaming industry with the Canadian Gaming Association’s (CGA) President & CEO, Paul Burns, you get the distinct feeling he was never destined for the industry, but rather, the industry was destined for him.

“I was born and raised in Toronto. My family has been here since the mid to late 1830s.” As a fourth generation Torontonian, Burns’ Canadian heritage lies deep and – by accident or design –his service to his city and country, alike, have manifested in his ability to provide almost 20 years’ worth of representation for Canada’s evolving gaming landscape. Burns' formal education always remained close to home, culminating at the University of Guelph, located a little over an hour’s drive from downtown Toronto, from which he graduated with a degree in Political Science and Government.

Growing up in Midtown Toronto, a career in politics was the goal for Burns and, indeed, one he would go on to achieve. Following his Bachelor’s, Burns dove headfirst into a career in Canadian politics, working as part of local staff, at municipal level and eventually federal level for party leaders and cabinet ministers over the years.

“My skill set wasn’t actually gaming operations. It was politics and public affairs, and stakeholder relations,” Burns

reflects with Gaming America . These were traits he would learn to harness throughout his career, which would see him dip in and out of politics, gaming, real estate and, at times, a combination of all three. However, it was while working at municipal level that he would first come across gaming. “My way into gaming came through politics. I was in Ontario’s provincial government as a political staff member working for a Cabinet Minister; then I got handed the gaming file.”

FROM THE CABINET TO THE CASINO

When explaining the nature of the Canadian gaming space, Burns underscores that, while the landscape has been subject to enormous change, the intertwined nature of administration in the industry remains. “Provincial governments are very involved in gaming in Canada,” he states –and ,as detailed, provincial government was exactly where Burns was when the gaming file slid across his desk. “We in Ontario introduced casinos, with the first one opening in 1993. I wasn’t involved with this file until a little later in 1996/97, when we began the expansion of lots of racetracks and the expansion of what was then known as a charity casino model, a model to replace table games set up for charities to raise money. It was... kind of an awful system. That’s why we were looking to create more permanent facilities across the province.”

And there it was. Burns had made his first foray into gaming, “I worked on that file with the Government, launched that programme and subsequently decided that I liked the gaming business.” Burns then began working in real estate with Revenue Properties – who had expressed interest in obtaining gaming properties –while retaining his position in government. “I ended up going to work with a real estate company that won the right to build six casinos in Ontario.” However, after spending 11 months working on the casino project, Burns experienced his first industry setback.

“Unfortunately, the Government changed their mind. We were in talks with municipalities, asking if they would approve casino facilities in their communities. The province had promised them a share of revenue but hadn’t told them what it was – and so it was getting a little bumpy. Then the Government decided to go in a different direction. They gave all the casino business back to Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).”

Though this was, indeed, a frustrating bump in the road, Burns would soon be moving forward with another exciting project. “At that time Revenue Properties, which is the Canadian real estate company I worked with, had also pursued a Nevada gaming license. They were partners in the PT's Taverns chain in Las Vegas. In the late 1990s, Las Vegas was growing at an alarming rate, it was enormous. The city was growing at a rate of something like 5,000 people a month. It was just incredible because there were all these properties that needed mass amounts of employment – and it was just changing the face of Las Vegas. That was a fun time to be involved.”

LAS VEGAS TO THE MAYOR’S OFFICE

It wouldn’t be long before Burns' Revenue Properties days would be over, as the company was acquired at the turn of

CEO

the millennium in a move that would take it out of the gambling space. According to Burns, the natural thing for him to do was to go back to working in politics, despite feeling as though his gaming ambitions had been left somewhat unfulfilled, “I always wanted to go back to gaming. It was whether or not I could find opportunities to do so.”

Through rugby, Burns found a connection which re-immersed him in the world of politics, this time with some real prior experience under his belt. He ended up running a campaign for the

man who would go on to be the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Peter MacKay. Then, in 2003, Burns began working on campaigns for David Miller, including his successful campaign bid to become the Mayor of Burns' home town.

“Having grown up in Toronto, I thought it was a fun exercise to do and be a part of. Miller was single digits in the polls when I joined in the summer. We won in November. Then, I joined the mayor’s office. By that point, I had been able to work at all three levels of government

in Canada. I did extend into the Federal Government in the early 1990s right out of university. I worked for the leader of the Conservative Party in Ontario. Then I went to Ottawa to work for a candidate in the leadership process to replace then Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, who was retiring, before coming back and working in the position where I first came across those gaming files we were talking about.”

BACK TO GAMING

“Working in the Mayor’s office was fun. I did that for a couple of years, particularly managing transit and economic development files from there. Then I got a call from the

executives. Burns recalls, “That was the impetus. At that time, it was a gentleman named Duncan Brown, CEO of the OLG at the time; and a couple of other industry leaders in the country said, 'I think it’s time we got together and created a voice for the industry.'”

Following its formation, the Canadian Gaming Association wasted no time establishing its presence in the gaming landscape, acquiring the Canadian Gaming Summit within its first year. Additionally, nine gambling companies in the country stepped forward as volunteers to be study members for the association. The acquisition of the Gaming Summit gave the Association somewhere to establish an on-theground presence. As Burns recalls, “We managed our first event in 2006 – and from there began to build the Association.

the Canadian Gaming Association for five years, making him part of the proverbial furniture. However, his CGA tenure was still in its fledgling stage. Today, Burns is closing in on celebrating 20 years with the organization.

“Did I ever expect I would stay as long as I did? No. But what I’ve found about the industry is that there are always wonderful people, and I’ve always continued to learn. I always wanted gaming to be a technology product. Working to meet changing consumer

always something I knew he (William) had notionally talked about, but it was about knowing his timelines. Then, I was Acting CEO for a little while after Bill left, while the Board decided what they wanted to do. After a little while, they decided to make it official.”

My way into gaming came through politics.

I was in Ontario’s

provincial

government as a political staff member working for a Cabinet Minister; then I got handed the gaming file.

It was a very interesting time. From the 20062008 period there was a lot of discussion about Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) – or gaming machines – across bars and venues in Canada. There were eight provinces, all with room to grow and so we were looking for opportunities to build new casinos and grow the casino footprint.”

A major project was pending – and it inevitably came to the CGA when New Brunswick began working on its new Gaming Control Act. The Canandian Gaming Association worked with the provincial government closely, re-interpreting the criminal code as part of the development of the new act, which was released in 2008. Subsequently, the change in legislation saw the opening of the province’s first casino –Casino New Brunswick – in 2010.

TWO DECADES OF THE CGA

By this point, Burns had been working with

choices, dealing with governments and dealing with new challenges, watching the industry’s growing commitments to responsible gaming and healthy play. It’s been a continuous evolution.”

Despite working for the Canadian Gaming Association for almost two decades, Burns has only held two roles. His impressive roster of prior experience in both gaming and politics, alongside joining mere months after the association’s inception, allowed him to hold the role of Vice President for just under 13 years. Then, in 2018, the time came for his predecessor – William Rutsey – to step down from his post as CEO. Thus, in July 2018, Burns stepped up to the top job.

THE HOT SEAT

Burns recalls that the changeover was not a snap decision, but rather something that had been in the pipeline for some time. “It was

While the internal transition from VP to President & CEO was smooth for Burns, his introduction to life as the head of the organization was – to say the least – busy. A range of challenges, many of which were unbeknown to himself and the rest of the world, awaited Burns after he stepped into the role in 2018. For instance, an issue ongoing in Canada at the time was that of the copious amounts of money being laundered largely through casinos in British Columbia.

Alarm bells were initially raised in the province around 2015, when large amounts of illegitimate funds began to surface.

Measures were quickly introduced to reduce the amount of dirty money flowing through the casinos to good effect. However, in 2019 a report was released by the Government of British Columbia that estimated CA$7bn (US$5.16bn) was laundered in the province in 2018 – with CA$5.3bn flowing through the real estate market.

Such was the prevalence of citizens in British Columbia exchanging large amounts of ill-acquired cash for chips in local casinos, only for them to place a few low-stakes bets and re-exchange the chips, effectively cleaning their money –the method was coined ‘The Vancouver Model.’ The subsequent effect of The Vancouver Model on the housing and opioid crises in British Columbia was felt by local citizens; however, Burns’ experience within gaming, politics and real estate placed him in a strong position to guide

the CGA through the process of working with local and federal organizations to to represent the industry the issue.

THE GREAT 2020 RESET

What was turning out to be a fascinating initial phase as CEO for Burns was about to get all the more intriguing with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the latter stages of 2019 – around 18 months after he had stepped into his new role. “Well, I learned more about public health measures than I ever thought I would in my life!” he quips to Gaming America. Burns' reflection on the pandemic is one that draws focus on the silver linings of what was inevitably an extremely strenuous moment for the industry and, of course, the people in it.

By no fault of its own, British Columbia was becoming something of a hotspot of issues for Canada at the turn of the decade, as the province also recorded Canada’s first case of Covid in January of 2020. By March, cases across all the nation’s provinces were recorded and, shortly after, the country followed the rest of the world into a full lockdown.

“The impact of the pandemic on the Canadian gaming industry was really significant. Properties were closed for months across the whole country. It was almost 17 months with either ridiculously limited capacity or closed completely. That was also tough for the association

The bottom line

is creating opportunities for our members and operators from all over the world to do business in this country.

– because the industry was struggling and people were getting cut, or they weren’t making enough money and so on. Fortunately, the association itself was in a position financially to live off reserves and that’s what we did.

“We did everything we could to inform ourselves on how to re-open safely, so we could advocate to help governments see the light to, gradually, give casinos bigger capacities and open fully over a period of time. It was a challenging point.”

While there is no right time for a global pandemic, the Covid-19 pandemic came just as Ontario was gearing up its plans to regulate online gaming and sports betting markets. This process was completely stopped in its tracks. Burns, however, has a knack for finding the silver lining, “For the Association, it was the perfect next project for us to lean in to.”

THE ONTARIO PROJECT

“In the midst of the pandemic we started working on the Ontario bill. The province made the commitment, so we knew they were going to move forward. I got started on the policy process to build out the regulatory regime – and so that was a huge lifeline for the gaming industry in Canada. Of course, the whole time we were actively working on Bill C 218, we were doing lobbying efforts but not being able to go to Ottawa, because politicians were participating virtually, and no one was really around. I guess it was the same for everyone, not a lot of face-to-face conversations during that time! There was a lot of Zoom lobbying going on in the House of Commons and in the Senate. Eventually, we were able to get everything over the finish line before Ontario opened their marketplace. In the end, it seemed a lot came together at the right time!” Indeed, April 2022 saw the regulation of sports betting and online gaming in Ontario. It’s fair to say this market has seen resounding success. Operators from across the globe have flooded the region, which now boasts one of the most diverse markets in the world regarding. In June of 2024, official figures reported by Deloitte revealed that the market had contributed CA$2.7bn towards the province’s economy within its first two years – 92% of what was predicted for the first five years of regulation. Covid, alongside the opening of the Ontarian market, have been huge turning points for the growth of the Canadian Gaming Association, too. “We’ve had such significant growth since the beginning of the pandemic – when we had somewhere

around 20 to 30 member companies. Now, we have over 75. It’s been great to see the Association grow. I think people see the need and value. We continue our advocacy work on a range of fronts at federal level, because obviously the gaming legislature resides in the criminal code regarding antimoney laundering laws and working around things like that.”

A LEGACY

Burns' contributions towards the Canadian gaming industry over the past two decades have earned him vast praise and recognition. Burns recalls that in the earlier days of his VP tenure at the CGA, the onus was on enhancing the sports betting sector in the nation.

“The process of changing sports betting laws in Canada was, to say the least, a long one. Going back, the first conversations we started to have were in 2008. At the time, it was much more about putting sportsbooks in casinos than it was about online gaming. By the time we got to 2020-2021, it was as much about online gaming as it was about anything. That’s the way everything evolved in North America. However, yes, often in the early days everything was centered around casino sports books.

“During those early days I got to meet a lot of great folks in the sports betting business, predominantly in Las Vegas at that time, because that was the only jurisdiction North America where it occurred. Being inducted with some of those people who helped build the industry, that I had great memories of working with, was wonderful. These guys built that business in Las Vegas, and the stories and insights they had were invaluable to me.”

“I have one memory in particular with Michael Gaughan, who is the son of Jackie Gaughan. The Gaughan family is a legendary longtime Las Vegas casino family – and Michael hosted a dinner one night with a bunch of the sportsbook operators and people from El Cortez. Just listening to them tell stories around the table and offer their insights. It was amazing. As I said before, the gaming industry has a lot of wonderful people in it. Looking back on that evening,

to learn from these legendary operators was an honor.”

AN EVOLVING LANDSCAPE

Looking ahead, the Canadian gaming landscape remains as busy as ever. Busier even, with the imminent regulation of Alberta’s iGaming market right around the corner. This was a development that was in fact announced at the 18th CGA-operated Canadian Gaming Summit in June by Alberta’s Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction, Dale Nally. The province is set to follow in Ontario’s footsteps, as its market is said to be using the roadmap set out by its provincial relative, with some minor tweaks.

Despite fluctuating between Ottawa and Las Vegas at points in his career, all roads seem to have led back to Toronto for Burns, who still resides in the city’s downtown district. Retaining a sense of home is a crucial component to adapting to changing circumstances and, after pushing for progression on numerous fronts for a number of years, Burns understands as well as anyone that gaming doesn’t require the same kind of push that it used to. Things are progressing rapidly, and the landscape is starting to change.

“These days, we try to play the role

of educators. We want to help people understand how the industry is regulated, providing resources for companies, learning from other jurisdictions, particularly in Ontario right now, which is probably the best experience for Alberta. We don’t expect everyone to understand the nuances of how payment processing works, or how geolocation works, for example. We’re here for the people that need to learn and we are trying to build a consensus on the more complex aspects of the industry. That’s important. I think it can help expediate the decision-making process, as well as assisting operators in keeping on top of complex issues.

“There’s a lot of community in our work, which I love. I talk to our regulatory counterparts and people like the Betting & Gaming Council, American Gaming Association or European Casino Association – and we have a lot of the same issues. There’s a lot we can all teach each other as well.

“So now that’s the goal, to continue to be a resource for the government, and educate people – particularly ahead of iGaming opening up in Alberta. The bottom line is creating opportunities for our members and operators from all over the world to do business in this country.”

TESTING THE LIMITS

Executive Director of the Responsible Online Gaming Association, Dr Jennifer Shatley, also President of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, speaks to Gaming America about a career of firsts, her role in revolutionizing RG & what’s next for the field.

Growing up in a Tennessee town so small it only has one traffic light, Jennifer Shatley has gone on to trailblaze some of the most important initiatives in responsible gaming history. If that doesn’t scream the American dream, we don't know what does!

Now residing in Las Vegas for the past 25 years, Shatley is a long way from her southern roots – however, when discussing responsible gaming (RG), her disposition remains as energetic as the day she left home.

“Growing up in a very small town about an hour north of Memphis, life was very rural and agricultural. It was a nice place to grow up, but I had my sights set on something bigger," she tells Gaming America.

Like many others, Shatley didn’t find

gaming as much as it found her. The summer before leaving for college, Shatley worked on a factory line for a company that pressed magazines – but she quickly moved on to study for her undergraduate degree in English Literature and then Pre-law. Looking back on her studies, Shatley recalls, “I had actually always thought I was going to be an attorney.”

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE...

Following her Bachelor’s degree, Shatley’s law aspirations were well on track, as she was then accepted into Law School at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. Though, her education came to an abrupt pause. “I was unfortunately the

I think that considering there wasn’t much to work with at the start, I’m proud of being something of an innovator.

victim of an aggravated battery while I was at law school, which meant that I had to drop out of school. That essentially ended the law school career. My intent was, in fact, to sit out for a year and then go back to school and just start over. I had an agreement with LSU to do that based on the circumstances of what happened. Before I knew it, I moved back to rural Tennessee and the only job I could get was at a sausage factory where they actually make sausage!”

Discussing this challenging period, Shatley handles the subject with a smile and comedic grace, “It was tough at the time, but now when I play two truths and a lie, nobody ever believes that I lost teeth in a bar fight – or that I worked in a sausage factory...”

She continues, “Still, I could not see myself doing that for a year before going back to law school. I ended up going to Knoxville to get a graduate degree in communications. Again, the course was writing intensive and very focused on research. Ultimately, all of that was what led me into my career. I graduated from Knoxville and was going to go back to law school. However, what actually happened was I moved to Memphis, and a friend of mine worked at Harrah’s, headquartered in Memphis – and I landed a research role.”

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY

Shatley worked in the research role at Harrah’s for two years before, in 1999, the company decided it was set to relocate to Las Vegas. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure about Vegas. I went for a visit. That was part of the package of trying to get people to move as they sort of had everybody go and experience it. I didn’t see myself here and I moved back to Louisiana. I was, again, going back to law school but, when I got to Louisiana, I realized I didn’t really want to go back to law school. Harrah’s was calling me trying to get me to come back into the research role with a promotion that was too good to turn down, so I moved. I’ve been in Vegas for 24/25 years now and can’t imagine anywhere else.”

This is how the Vegas story started for Shatley. Shortly after her relocation, the

CEO SPECIAL - JENNIFER SHATLEY | GAMING AMERICA

research role she held at Harrah’s was altered by something that would go on to change the face of the industry forever. In 2000, Harrah’s developed something called a Code of Commitment – which was an ethical statement pertaining to gaming company operations. The operator also developed an entirely new role around the code – and duly offered it to Shatley.

background and being very data-driven made me the obvious choice. When I came into the role, I did a gap analysis to see where the opportunities were and where we could be doing more. Everything pointed towards responsible gaming. That’s what led us on this journey

“Basically, the Code of Commitment was social responsibility back when social responsibility didn’t exist. It detailed commitments to our employees, to our customers, to our communities and to the environment. The new role was running all the aspects of that, and I think having a research

doing a lot of industry firsts in the area. We were just trying to expand our knowledge and looking at how we could approach responsible gaming better. Eventually, that’s how the role morphed specifically into responsible gaming.”

Once Shatley stepped into her new research position, her work around the Code of Commitment began to change into a role that was purely centered around

Disney didn’t allow us to run our ads because they were gambling ads, However, they were airing poker? So that was an interesting controversy...

responsible gaming. This wound up being the position she would hold for the longest in her career to date. In her 13 years as VP of Responsible Gaming Policies and Compliance at Harrah’s (later Caesars), Shatley would launch the industry’s first-ever responsible gaming TV campaign, patent the industry’s first-ever enterprisewide responsible gaming IT application and much more.

However, Shatley recalls that, at the beginning of the process, she didn’t have a whole lot of inspiration to work with. “Mostly what was being done across the industry was if someone said the magic words, ‘I have a gambling problem,’ you gave them a brochure, and that was all you did in the day because nobody really knew anything beyond that. The research was very young. Programs were very young. The first RG program in the industry was, actually, created by Harrah’s in 1989. All of the regulations that came after were based on that original program, but they weren’t really robust. I think that considering there wasn’t much to work with at the start, I’m proud of being something of an innovator. However, I was also fortunate enough to work in a company that allowed me space to explore – especially in an area that wasn’t a revenue generator.”

worked tirelessly on the development of new initiatives to introduce to the industry. In 2003, however, when the initiatives were ready for implementation, they were met with disapproval from some. "Quite frankly, it was somewhat controversial at the time. We got pushback from operators and some others in the industry who thought it wasn’t appropriate.

housekeeper. Then, when we tested the card dealer’s ad with consumers, there was a split-second moment where he spread cards across the felt on the table. It was barely perceptible, the camera was on his face, and he just did it because he was doing his job. That second of footage, we found, took everybody in the focus group completely away from the RG message and made them think about gambling. From that point on, we knew how much we had to really draw focus on consumer behavior, too.”

After stepping into the role around the turn of the millennia, Shatley and her team

“I remember one campaign in particular –strangely – was that, at Caesars we had the World Series of Poker (WSOP). All the WSOP footage was broadcast all over ESPN and we wanted to run our RG ads during the series but the parent company, Disney, didn’t allow us to run our ads because they were gambling ads. However, they were airing poker? So that was an interesting controversy, not being allowed to run RG advertisements because gambling ads weren’t allowed at a poker tournament...”

Then, in 2005, Harrah’s acquired Caesars Entertainment in what was, at the time, the gaming industry’s largest ever acquisition. The buyout was valued at around $9bn and later resulted in the complete re-branding of Harrah’s in 2010.

Undeterred, Shatley pushed her initiatives through and began working on the idea that responsible gaming should be approached as part of the overall customer experience.

“Something I also learned early on, which may seem obvious now, was the psychological nature of the whole issue. There was a fascinating project we did in which we had our CEO do a message around RG. We also then had different employees talk about why it was important to them and how it affected their roles – everybody was involved, from security to a dealer to a

Despite the enormous external change, business on the inside remained as innovative as usual – and the idea of integrating responsible gaming initiatives as part of general service birthed the idea of an RG Ambassador. “We thought that RG should just be a component of customer service. How you treat guests, how you take care of guests – responsible gaming should be part of that. The ambassadors were designed to check in with people and this initiative was really one of the first steps in what we would now call risk identification.”

2005 turned out to be a busy year in the history of Caesars, as the organization pioneered the first ever company-wide self-exclusion list, with Shatley at the helm and heart of the operation. “When we implemented the self-exclusion list, we had worked on technology that was not only designed to track concerning behaviors, but also to make sure that if someone was excluded, they were excluded across every brand we operated. That included any properties or brands we operated in the US or Canada. It was a very big undertaking.”

Shatley’s early years at Caesars/Harrah’s

were hugely influential to the gaming industry – and an uncountable tally of individual lives. The issue of addiction, in all its forms, touches so many lives across the globe. Dr. Shatley took the opportunity to share how these issues have impacted her own life – and the influence behind some of her professional motivations.

“When I was 13, my 17-year-old sister was killed by a drunk driver. Sadly, it wasn’t his first offense nor his last. Obviously, this experience had a profound effect on my life and, I think, influenced my career choices to try to be an advocate within the gaming industry; to promote responsible practices and provide protections and prevention measures. It’s also why I’m passionate about this field and find the work I do incredibly fulfilling.”

had gained from other companies and in other organizations. Caesars was a leader; we had done a lot of those things first, but I felt my expertise and that experience would benefit other organizations who were looking to expand their own RG programs. That’s really what I wanted to do.”

In 2013, Dr Shatley was also appointed as the President of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. Two years later, she also aided in the creation of Logan Avenue

Mostly what was being done across the industry was if someone said the magic words, ‘I have a gambling problem,’ you gave them a brochure, and that was all you did...

During her tenure at Caesars, Dr Shatley pioneered underage gambling prevention, responsible service of alcohol and unattended children initiatives. She launched the first-ever televised responsible gambling awareness campaign alongside the aforementioned responsible gaming IT identify, track and maintain company policy. Her responsible gaming training was received by over 100,000 employees and her brand-wide responsible gaming policies of enhanced identification and surveillance were implemented across 50+ Caesars properties globally.

Between 2001 and 2013, Shatley also joined the Advisory Board of the National Council on Problem Gambling, Board of Directors of the Nevada State Council on Problem Gambling, Board of Directors for the National Center for Responsible Gaming, held multiple roles on state Problem Gambling Advisory Committees and more.

Moving on from her VP role at Caesars after 13 years in 2014, her work was far from finished. “When I left, I wanted to leverage all the expertise and experience I

Consulting – a firm which serves purely as a responsible gaming advisor.

important in particular because I was dealing with a lot of government officials in Japan. Subsequently, that really piqued my interest in public policy and especially around RG. That’s what, in fact, led me back to academia. When I came back from the Japan role, I applied at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) to get my Doctorate in Public Policy.” Despite studying for her Doctorate, Shatley continued her RG advocacy work on a number of fronts. However, she also held the unique experience of studying through the Covid-19 pandemic. She reflects, “Actually, it was a good time to go to university. My business slowed down and I had the time to devote to it. I also worked at the International Gaming Institute for the entire time I was at UNLV. I was their consulting lead for RG. That led to many interesting projects, the most interesting of which was working with a Tribal operator. We were looking at how you can culturally adapt RG programs for a tribal culture? That was fascinating.”

“I was fortunate that I got to work with the AGA, I got to work with lots of other operators. I got to work with problem gaming councils, I got to work with research organizations. Overall, I got to do a wide variety of things. That was interesting to me. The most exciting was leading the RG strategy in Japan for Caesars when they were interested in that market in around 2017; that was incredibly exciting. I did that for about 2.5 years, I was Vegas-based but I would go about every other month. It’s a beautiful country. I absolutely love it.

“That experience was both interesting and

Now, with over 25 years worth of experience in RG innovation, Shatley has been selected to lead another unprecedented initiative as the Executive Director of the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA). The Association’s initial member companies represent 85% of the legalized online sports betting and iGaming industry. Therefore, ROGA is a singular responsible gaming organization of an unprecedented scale and has brought together some of the largest players in the global gaming industry.

Shatley said the Association’s formation prompted her to think about her early days in responsible gaming and exactly how far the sector had come.

“Thinking back to the ad campaign, it was the very first RG initiative with no marketing message at all – it was just saying, ‘if you’re not in control, don’t gamble and call someone for some help.’ Essentially,

what it was saying was if you have a problem, this is what you should do about it. Nowadays, we’re seeing ads that are very clever and will have celebrity athletes talking about how to utilize the tools and they’re talking about preventative self-measures as they should be. I think what we’re going to hopefully see moving forward is a more holistic view of the customer across different platforms. We want to see the industry work together and help promote responsible gaming, to help push initiatives forward.”

With such an extensive array of experience, being asked to pick a singular moment she remembers fondly is always going to be a difficult question to answer. Shatley takes her time – and her conclusion is a definitive two-pronged approach.

An inherent feature of the gaming industry is continuous evolution. The responsible gaming sub-sector is no different. The face of responsible practices, how they are promoted, perceived and received within the industry is almost unrecognizable when compared to 25 years ago – when Shatley first began her advocacy work in the area. Her role within this evolution has been pivotal. In many ways, addressing responsible gaming in the modern technological landscape is sure to be an entirely different ball game to what it may have been in the 2000s. However, some of Shatley’s earliest initiatives remain in the works today.

do with the data clearing house: to share the self-exclusion lists across all our member companies – BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, Bally's, Hard Rock and Penn. With such influential companies on board, we can start working towards that goal.”

The Responsible Online Gaming Assocation is keeping Shatley as busy as ever and, from the outside, looks to be representative of the desire to further responsible gambling's progress.

“I think the creation of the RG ambassadors was truly fascinating because, quite frankly, it was so hard to know how to operationalize that. It’s one thing to theorize a professional who goes around talking to guests, to try and motivate behavioral change. Actually operationalizing it? That was difficult. The idea that we truly relied on and, in the end, rightfully so, was the idea that hospitality employees are simply very good at customer service. We wanted to tie the idea of RG ambassadors in with the skills they already had – and it was quite effective.

“The other thing I’m always excited about is technology. Especially within such a largescale operation like Caesars, we had to constantly integrate new technology just to maintain the enterprise solution we had built that housed all of the RG data, as well as then integrating that data into every single system. What was great was that we were able to achieve that on a large scale because we were a huge company. To be part of operationalizing that across statewide and even international jurisdictions, it was quite a feat.”

“When we started working on the selfexclusion list at Caesars, we immediately recognized how great it would be if we could take it one step further. Now, we’ve long talked about a self-exclusion list being across both national jurisdictions in the States and international jurisdictions across the globe. Nobody has successfully gotten there on a large scale. That’s very much on the wish list for today.

“That, then, is one thing I’m really excited and proud about working on with ROGA. It is one of the first things we are looking to

“We’re now in the phase where we’re close to launching initiatives that were named as our key pillars of focus. Fortunately, they are coinciding with Responsible Gaming Education Month in September. We’re looking forward to pushing those forward. From the start, it’s been really collaborative; our operator members are very supportive. They’re interested in learning more, they’re interested in evolving our programs. There’s been an overwhelming response to the organization and a lot of excitement about how we’re going to move things forward. That’s what excites me the most, pushing the boundaries of where we can take RG next. Testing limits, that’s what we’re here to do.”

In March of this year, the Responsible Online Gaming Association was founded with Shatley at the helm. The Association looks to explore a variety of initiatives around responsible gaming in the modern technological industry. It is still early days, but six months on from its formation the future is looking bright.

CYCLICAL

“I’m a self-made man through hard work, determination and a positive attitude. This is something that I pride myself on,” Betfred USA CEO Kresimir Spajic tells Gaming America . “I figured out that, ultimately, the best results I deliver are when I’m working for large organisations, where I have enough freedom to achieve desired goals and objectives.” This seems like a simple enough concept on paper, but anyone who has led a company will understand the nuances to this statement from Spajic. Unless an organization allows those in leadership roles to have breathing room, someone like Spajic will never truly be able to shine.

a couple of professional contracts.” At the same time, Spajic pursued a college education, including extra-curricular activities such as becoming the Vice President of his Student Union. Balancing this with soccer for income, Spajic reflects on his need to keep busy, even in his early years. That concoction made for long days, though, where he would wake up at 6am and wouldn’t come home again until well past 9pm. “I was constantly exhausted and I couldn’t focus fully on either one.” In the end, Spajic dropped down to Croatia’s second league until he finished his studies.

A small bit of freedom isn’t only the key to success, but it gives an executive the room for self-improvement. “My key thing is that I always enjoy advancing professionally, but personally, I’m always educating myself. I’m constantly trying to be challenged because when things are pretty flat or boring, that’s not for me. I don’t like flat and boring.”

“I actually started as a professional athlete; I was a professional soccer player.” A goalkeeper by trade, Spajic wasn’t just a casual weekend player, participating in top-level competition and even making the list for youth national selection in his native Croatia. “I was never the number-one goalie,” he explains. “But I was pretty decent and managed to sign

him. When discussing the different world views, perspectives and experiences he shared and discussed with his fellow graduates, Spajic notes “this was what changed my life, because for the first time, I was exposed to such different environments with so many nationalities and so many different people. So many cultures, living and breathing together for a year. Just to open my mindset and opportunities, it was definitely an experience that changed my life.”

Career wise, Spajic decided to combine both his passions and become a Lecturer in Sports yet, despite his best intentions, Spajic “realized very quickly that I didn’t have enough knowledge.” Rather than maintaining his position, Spajic wasn’t content with offering a limited perspective to his students and searched for more experience. This is when he received scholarships from the Croatian Football Federation and the University of Applied Sciences VERN to travel the world under the FIFA Masters course in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport. Here, he would learn at De Montfort University in Leicester, SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan and the Université de Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It wasn’t just the prestige of the course that left an impression on Spajic, but also the diversity of cultures from everyone else on the course with

When Spajic returned after finishing his course, rather than going back into the world of sports, he found that life had slightly different plans for him. “I was very focused on sports, but Croatia was outside of the European Union,” he reflects. “It was very hard for me to get a working visa for Europe, so I found a job as a marketing director for a very interesting company.” The company in question was a fashion house that prided itself on prestigious silk products for both men and women. According to Spajic, one of the co-owners was a “great visionary” who wasn’t just content with selling ties, but instead used his business as a way to promote the cultural heritage of the cravat and its origins in Croatia. It’s believed that in the 1600s, Croatian men who fought in a war alongside French troops wore “a handkerchief around their necks as a hygienic tool” and while it was originally called a ‘Croat’ in reference to the country, this developed over time to cravat.

“For the first time, I worked for somebody who is actually a visionary, and he would do crazy stuff!” For example, they built the largest cravat in the world by tying the fabric around the Pula Arena, a Roman Amphitheatre, which got picked up by the BBC and dozens of other international media outlets. “Working for this guy was really eye-opening. It wasn’t always easy, but eye-opening for me all the same.”

If there’s one theme consistent throughout

Spajic’s story, it is that of cycles. While his Croatian heritage made it difficult for him to gain a working visa after graduating, it would be a boon to him only several years later. As he managed marketing for the fashion business, Spajic was approached by Betandwin, later known as Bwin, as the operator needed a territory manager who understood both Croatia and sports sponsorships. It wasn’t an easy decision as, at that time “gaming didn’t have a great reputation in the region because of the people it was connected with.” This led to three of deliberation before Spajic took the plunge and accepted the job. Once he started, he admits it was “really fun,” especially as he was able to leverage sponsorships with Real Madrid, AC Milan, Moto GP and Dinamo Zagreb – the most successful club in Croatian football history.

Once again, global politics would have a say in Spajic’s future. When

Bwin decided to go public, it decided to withdraw from all of its non-EU markets, which included the former Yugoslavian territories Spajic oversaw. He wasn’t about to let go

of the gambling industry fully, as his next job with Omnicom included some gaming clients – all of which required different local strategies depending on the product, life cycles and territorial presence. Neither Spajic nor the operators could stay apart for long, however, as Full Tilt Poker was looking to establish itself in the Central, Eastern and Southern European region. There was only one man for the job. “We come to you with an open hand, we don’t know much about the region,” Spajic recalls the operator saying.

“Why don’t you build the region for us?” That’s exactly what he did, and within two years he achieved results.

“We opened up 10 or 12 markets fully, we participated in others passively and even started filming local shows for the first time.” One of the shows he worked on, Face the Pro, would see people qualify from all over the region to come and, as the title implied, face off against professionals. Until, of course, a certain ruling that shut the US poker industry down, creating reverberations across the wider industry. “Business was booming until Black Friday happened, and that was when our momentum checked. None of us really understood what was happening. Especially those of us who didn’t work with the US business.” Understandably, this one was incident too far for Spajic, “So I said, okay, no more gaming for me. This is kind of crazy.”

People go public at the right time, when the capital markets are favorable; then people also take companies private when it is not the right cycle.

If this was truly the end for Spajic in gaming, naturally he wouldn’t be here giving Gaming America a CEO Special interview! It was, however, time for him

to step away from the industry for a few years. Just as he had before, when circumstances became unfavorable, Spajic relied on his own entrepreneurial nature. Applying his knowledge of the sporting world, he invested in a business that was focused on producing statistical data, along with a health and performance center for athletes. “That business is still very alive and active,” tells Gaming America proudly. But gaming would soon knock on Spajic’s door once more. “The US was happening any minute and they

needed someone who knew gaming and who knew how to build and launch multiple markets quickly,” he nods as he recalls the offer from Boyd Gaming Group and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. This was helped, no doubt, by his background in Bwin, considering that Borgata was partnered with Bwinparty at the time. “After we successfully launched that project and became the number one brand in casino and poker in New Jersey, with a 43% market share, I quickly realised that none of the other markets were opening up.”

For someone like Spajic, who needs to be kept busy, this posed a problem. If markets wouldn’t open up, an alternative solution would. So next up on his journey would be Rush Street Interactive (RSI), where Spajic worked alongside CEO Richard Schwartz to launch the operator’s first market. “Based on their vision, which is proprietary technology, the chance to get into the market, build the productcentric and customercentric first business seemed at the time to be a very, very long shot. But I have to give credit to Richard for everything, for what they have achieved and for being very consistent in his approach to what he was doing.”

After finishing with the RSI launch, Spajic would then join the team at Hard Rock, taking the position of SVP and MD of Hard Rock Digital. “It sounded appealing: a big company; a big brand.” This wasn’t the only deciding factor, as it just so

happened that his wife had family in Miami too.

“I stayed with Hard Rock for over five years and we built a digital business from scratch. We started first with casual and social games; we built a portfolio of 6, all free to play and built a decent business out of it. It was interesting, because first of all, it was actually generating profits. Second, it was aiding our retail land-based business, which was very, very important. And then third, we were building a capacity for what is going to happen later on if there is real-money gaming going on.”

Spajic was right on the money here and, once PASPA was overturned, his team were able to launch real-money gaming “very, very quickly and achieved sizable market share there in less than 12 months.” Once these markets opened up, as they say, the rest was history. Spajic moved to Great Canadian Entertainment, where he worked together with various stakeholders to manage the digital transformation of the casino. “At the same time, I was involved in various gaming projects with Apollo Global Management. I had a chance to participate in multibillion dollar deals together with the partners and looked into all the assets they already had. At that point in time, they had Great Canadian, Lottomatica, Yahoo, and all sorts of other big gaming assets and they were pondering, ‘Okay, what we can do with these assets and what else should we add to portfolio?’ Basically, for a while, I had two jobs at the same time and it was a great time. I learned a lot about large-scale investments, what to do and how to do it.” Eventually, Great Canadian decided not to build on its own digital gaming capabilities and instead signed a partnership with another company. “This is what led me to Betfred.”

While joining Betfred seems like it would be a fairly horizontal move, there is one major difference between this brand and the other gaming operators Spajic has worked for in the past. “It’s a very interesting company with very interesting owners,” he explains. “It has a very different approach. Decision-making is done much more rapidly and the flow is much faster.” This, of course, is due to Betfred being a privately owned company. “If you have to report every quarter and you’re evaluated on a quarter, it’s very, very hard to balance between the long term and short term.” It’s this ability to focus on long-term strategies that gives

companies private when it is not the right cycle, when it comes to the capital markets.” He goes on to explain that this can also be influenced by which markets the business is targeting, economies of scale and even commercial percentages.

|

I'm a self-made man through hard work, determination and a positive attitude. This is something that I pride myself on.

Spajic the very freedom he mentioned at the start of our interview. This breathing room gives him the chance to manage and run the US business “as we agreed in terms of the strategy” without worrying about publishing quarterly results.

This trend towards going private has caught the attention of many recently, but as Spajic explains, “you need to understand that these things are cyclical.” Rather than it being indicative of the gaming industry as if it was a closed ecosystem, he reaffirms that the picture is much bigger than this. “People go public at the right time, when the capital markets are favorable and there is a sense to go public; then people also take

It’s while he’s talking about his time with Betfred so far that Spajic really begins to light up. “I pride myself on being a good communicator, but you have to be in this industry. There are always going to be issues outside of your influence, but if you manage to keep a good relationship with people, there’s always a solution to be found on time, too.” If a business mentality makes up part of what a good CEO should be, then the rest of the recipe should be made from good interpersonal and leadership skills. Thankfully, Spajic values the latter, too. “Right now, I’m focusing on inspiring, motivating and directing collaboration and innovation between my team and my company, rather than just solely focusing on very narrow objectives and personal interests.” This seems simple in theory, but Spajic breaks down just how to achieve this. “It takes a bit of growth and maturation to come to that stage. Once you become a CEO, the focus is not on you – the focus is on everybody else.” He stresses that a leader can be inclusive and listen fairly to everyone they can. “You need the help of everybody else and you need everybody else to perform in order for you to be successful in the job that you’re doing.”

Obviously, there are particular ups and downs that come with being a CEO, too. “It’s very rewarding because you have an ability to change things. You have an ability to grow and progress things right. You have the ability to innovate, deliver and hopefully create an environment where everybody is enjoying working and having fun while they are doing this.” This is a double-sided coin,

however. A group can only continue to thrive in an environment that is right for it, which is where the “biggest challenge” comes in –decision making. “Sometimes you need to say these things are not working anymore and you need to be the one making that call,” Spajic recalls. “Although you really don’t want to make that call, it’s not just making the decisions, but making the right decisions.” He also widens his focus. “You then need to balance this between the interest of various stakeholders, and make sure everybody feels happy and heard in that process, which is probably the most difficult part because very often you have opposing opinions and desires of different stakeholders.”

With the changing tides of US gaming, Betfred Sportsbook and by extension Spajic himself are in a fairly interesting position. So what does this industry veteran see moving forward? “Right

They were very advantageous for those who were selling via those who were buying, e.g. market access, but now it’s a buyer’s market again.” While daily fantasy sports are cemented in North American culture, there could be some “challengers from the media world,” as well as a maturing relationship between US and EU operators. “Long story short, I don’t see anybody being able to challenge the big boys except certain companies from adjacent industries, like crypto, sweepstakes, pick'em and similar.”

The final words from Spajic paint a succinct picture of where he thinks gambling as a whole will progress. “At this point in time, every business and every industry grows to different cycles – and I think at this point of the cycle we are in, US sports betting is at a maturation stage. The focus is more

rush. People who are smart about this, people who have enough funds and have secured certain positions – and if they don't make any big mistakes –are going to continue leading in all of this. But I think it's becoming less fun than it was a few years ago, because nobody used to ask you what you spend and how you spend it. Now it's becoming more business-like and the overall industry, not only in the US but I believe the gaming industry globally, is becoming much more mature and much more regulated.”

For more of Spajic’s thoughts on the US market, see the cover feature of Gambling Insider’s September/October magazine. As for his journey? There is still plenty of life left in Spajic’s current, and any future, cycles.

Spajic with the Betfred USA team

CATERING FOR ALL

Playtech COO Shimon Akad talks Canada, MGM live casino and more.

Can you tell us more about Playtech's partnership with MGM Resorts?

Our overarching strategy recognizes the raw potential within land-based casino operators, helping them transform into a business that services both land-based and online markets.

We are incredibly proud to have been chosen by MGM Resorts as their trusted partner. From our initial meetings, it was clear Playtech and MGM Resorts share a common vision: players who love the land-based experience and are eager for a similar experience online. We identified a strong demand for a product that allows players to enjoy the comfort of their homes while feeling as if they are sitting in their favourite land-based casino, experiencing the gaming floor firsthand.

The response has been overwhelming, with an immediate spike in demand from both operators and players for this live experience. This is genuinely a step change in the market and it caught many by surprise. The amazing thing here is that this is merely the first step. There is so much more to do and expand here that I’m certain the market will continue to be amazed. Once you have the passion for the ultimate experience, the direction forward and next steps are clear.

Playtech has expanded to a number of states in the US, but where are you aiming to enter next?

Our US expansion strategy is guided by two key principles. Firstly, as we roll out Playtech PAM and Sports across multiple states, we prioritize our partners’ needs. We align our plans with the states our operators wish to grow in, ensuring our expansion matches their ambitions. I’m happy to say that we have partnered with more operators and are excited to expand with them into additional sports betting states.

Secondly, we see significant potential in states that offer both gaming and sports betting. This combination provides customers with a comprehensive, high-quality experience and drives business growth. Focusing on these sports/gaming states is our priority as we continue our expansion.

You signed with FanDuel in October in Canada. What differences have you noticed in the region and what opportunities does it present?

Canada is a high-potential market. Ontario’s launch has been very successful and our dedicated live studio with FanDuel is performing exceptionally well in terms of both volume and performance. The level of competition in Canada is higher than in the US due to different regulations, but the customer behaviour is quite similar. Like the US, we anticipate more provinces in Canada will regulate over the next few years, presenting further opportunities for growth.

Why do you think live casino’s appeal has grown so much in the US?

Live casino is a unique business. We are seeing an increasing number of players, [not just in the US], gravitating towards live casino games and appreciating the superior online quality they provide. The US market is distinctive because its players are highly experienced with online gaming and have high expectations for product quality.

Live casino isn’t limited to traditional casino games; it can encompass a wide range of products, all delivered through advanced technology and operations. The challenge lies in achieving that high level of experience, which requires complex technology, products and operations. Only a few online suppliers have succeeded in this, and we at Playtech are proud of our premier live experience. We anticipate that live casino will continue to grow in the US and we believe this is just the beginning. We expect its growth to far exceed what we see today.

Finally, could you talk us through your Player Account Management (PAM) system and what it offers casino resorts?

SHIMON AKAD COO Playtech

Playtech’s PAM system is uniquely positioned in the market, leveraging years of experience from leading online operations to generate the highest ROI per player. Over the past years, we have collaborated with multiple land-based operators to take their businesses from solely or primarily land-based into smartly and efficiently run operations that integrate both land-based and online components. Our omnichannel solutions enable operators to run both land-based and online businesses, allowing them to extend their land-based presence into the online realm. We take pride in helping land-based operators build robust and profitable online businesses: their success is our success.

ADAPTING MARKETING TO THE US

Having played a leading role in introducing RLX Gaming to a brand-new cohort of US players Marketing Director, Marija Hammon, explained to Gaming America how she and her team built a brand from the ground up by following a golden set of core marketing fundamentals.

RLX Gaming: It has been eight months since Relax Gaming officially made its debut in the United States after receiving the green light from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Working alongside betting and gaming powerhouse BetMGM, we immediately took to our brand-new name, RLX Gaming, delighting a highly captive audience of more than 90,000 players thanks to a portfolio of games that included Great Western 3, Temple Tumble and The Great Pigsby.

Of course, the stark reality of being a newcomer in the fast-moving US landscape, coupled with the additional challenge of building a new iGaming brand from scratch, cannot be understated.

If there’s anyone at RLX Gaming who understands the trials and tribulations associated with effectively promoting a brand in a new market, it’s our Director of Marketing, Marija Hammon, who along with her talented team were instrumental in building brand awareness as the company found its feet in North America.

MARKETING WITH A PURPOSE –BUILDING CAMPAIGNS THAT RESONATE

Having helped orchestrate successful product launches in key European markets, including a trio of Money Train titles, the Dream Drop Jackpot and most recently Ancient Tumble, Hammon was

well positioned to lead her team in translating the studio’s success stateside.

To understand how we approached its US entry from a marketing perspective, Hammon revealed her tried-and-tested recipe: “We have been fortunate enough to enjoy a string of successful launches over the last few years and aside from being fantastic products, they have all shared one thing in common, that they were underpinned by well-orchestrated, in-depth marketing campaigns.

“Our most successful campaigns are always built upon three key pillars; brand awareness, education and promotion. It’s a step-by-step process that mostly follows a similar blueprint, but is always

unique to each individual launch, regardless of the product.”

In this instance Hammon and her team were faced with another set of additional challenges due to IP considerations in North America. With the Relax Gaming name and visuals off the table, the team were also tasked with developing the company’s new name, logo and branding.

Thankfully, upon its launch, we feel RLX Gaming hit all the right notes. However, it was undoubtedly helped by Relax Gaming’s reputation and content marketing that has played its part in leading to more than 36 million game rounds in New Jersey across a handful of its most popular titles.

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

“As soon as the DGE crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s, we began setting the wheels in motion to ensure that our announcement to the media was accompanied by a wave of informative content in the US,” said

TAILORED MARKETING | GAMING AMERICA

Hammon. “We felt it was very much our duty as marketers to break down the RLX brand and inform operators and players exactly who we are and what we are about. The US landscape is an entirely different beast to what we are used to in Europe, and it was important that we took the opportunity to properly introduce ourselves and educate stakeholders.

“This industry moves at an incredible pace and it would have been remiss of us not to showcase our personalized approach within the region. While slots are what we’re best known for, we leant heavily on our portfolio of table games by launching with Blackjack Neo and Roulette Nouveau, catering from America’s strong land-based heritage.

“We approached our US entry with a full understanding of the business’ objectives, USPs, and knowledge of exactly who our core audience was and what they wanted. Without this, we would have undoubtedly failed in our endeavors to reach our target audience and make a lasting impact.”

A PERSONALIZED APPROACH

Adopting a tailored approach to proceedings isn’t just an operational mindset for us at RLX Gaming. When promoting new content for the company, Hammon champions the mindset of entering

every campaign with player preferences in mind: “Tailoring our marketing to a localized audience is imperative to our long-term success in the States and anywhere else for that matter. When promoting new games, we look at areas of growth in the region we’re working in and focus a good portion of our efforts there. A great example of this would be our Money Train (Great Western) franchise, when marketing later iterations of the game in Europe we invested heavily in multimedia content.

“Working with leading streamers played a huge part in ensuring that our games are seen, talked about and most importantly played upon their release. The pool of active streamers promoting iGaming content in the US is still quite small at the moment, but we’re looking forward to sharing our unique RLX messaging with American players as time goes on and the scene grows. In lieu of certain channels we usually rely upon to amplify our messaging, we’ll instead utilize channels that we know work within each jurisdiction, which in the US is a combination of the trade media and our own social media following.”

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF MARKETING

MARIJA HAMMON Marketing Director Relax Gaming

In summarising her thoughts, Hammon once again reaffirmed the importance of sticking to the core fundamentals to succeed. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to ensure that a brand or product gets the attention it rightly deserves, Hammon explained. “What you do need to do though is be consistent, consistency is key.”

Hammon also shared the three questions all suppliers must ask themselves before embarking on any successful campaign. Firstly, what defines your offering, and the values you operate under? Secondly, who is your audience, and what gaps require addressing? And finally, what is it your brands bring to the table and how does it stand out amongst others? If you’re able to answer all three of these questions and confidently convey your messaging whilst being clear, concise then the route to success is clear.

ADAPTING TO APPEAL

Gaming America speaks with Evolution's CEO for North America, Jacob Claesson , about supplying live casino in the US, appealing to local audiences and what Evolution has planned next.

What live dealer features are particularly popular in the US?

Why do you think this is?

Casino classics such as blackjack, roulette and their variants are the most popular live dealer games for US players, as the familiarity of these games is ingrained into the traditional gaming culture. Live dealer games not typically found on the casino floor, such as our game shows like Crazy Time, are attractive to new players and those who haven’t been to Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

Plus, there are additional layers of entertainment found in the bonus rounds, and they are suitable for all players because

JACOB CLAESSON CEO North America Evolution

they require little to no previous experience or knowledge of casino games. Our aim is to cater to all player types and we hope that, by introducing more exciting classic and innovative games, we can offer something for everyone.

What makes something a ‘Vegas experience’ and how do you try to bring that to players?

As mentioned before, we believe our popular game shows have redefined live casino by creating an immersive and hugely entertaining experience for players, synonymous with what

LIVE DEALER | GAMING AMERICA

players experience in Las Vegas. The games combine elements of traditional table games with worldfamous game shows to deliver thrills to players, such as exciting bonus rounds and charismatic game hosts, recreating the excitement of being in a real casino or watching a show.

Crazy Time is now live in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. What other states do you have your sights on and what do you feel you can offer players in these states?

Crazy Time is the world’s #1 online live game show and the reception across the US has been fantastic. Prior to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, Crazy Time was launched in New Jersey in December 2023. We now look to the remaining states where the game is not yet live, Delaware and Connecticut,

and we have the intention to bring this game to players there.

When it comes to launching games in the US, are there any unique factors that must be considered?

As the first supplier to provide online live game shows in North America, we pride ourselves in our ability to localize and customize our games. We adapt our games to appeal to a US audience, for example, we have US game hosts who can interact with players and build a unique sense of trust and familiarity. Additionally, when launching games in any new region, one must consider that our games will be subject to regulatory scrutiny, which we think is an important and positive part of the launch process. Although the process can take months or years to test, we feel confident launching our games to players knowing they have been

checked and tested thoroughly by regulators.

How do you stand out in a market as competitive as the US?

We do not rest on our laurels. We understand that to have a competitive advantage we need to be ahead of the other suppliers in all aspects. Taking the example of blackjack, it is not enough to just offer one type of live casino blackjack table to our clients. Therefore, we offer the widest range of blackjack variants with Speed Blackjack, Infinite Blackjack, Free Bet Blackjack, Lightning Blackjack, Spanish-speaking blackjack and VIP tables, to name a few.

We also offer our customers amazing branding opportunities, where tables or online live casino environments can be completely customized to their brand. We are also looking to expand our blackjack range over the next 12 months.

What is next for Evolution in the US?

We continue to keep a close eye on potential new states regulating in the future, while taking advantage of opportunities in existing markets. Live dealer gaming is still in its infancy in the US, and we are connecting with new players all the time who are just discovering our innovative and immersive range of games.

2024 will be our third time exhibiting at G2E and we are expanding Ezugi, our second live dealer brand in the US, with Michigan launching in the first half of next year, plus showcasing our range of new games launching this year in the US. Providing exciting new games, being the first provider in every new state as it regulates and attracting more players are all part of our overall goal to remain the leading online casino supplier in North America.

GAMING AMERICA | NORTH OF THE BORDER

MARKET FOCUS: CANADA

David Bolas , Commercial Director at Greentube, speaks with Gaming America about all things Canadian gaming, including Ontario and Alberta, which is expected to be regulated soon.

How do you localize casino content for Canada and how does this vary from US states?

In terms of Canada, we have worked closely with the provincial operators in markets such as British Columbia and Quebec, which we successfully entered quite some time ago. We utilized this experience to engineer our most recent success as the newer states have become available under regulatory frameworks. As a content supplier, you need to listen to operator feedback regarding themes, successful mechanics, cultural nuances and sensitivities, and player trends. You then harness this knowledge to shape your content roadmap going forward. In terms of overall structure, Ontario is very similar to the US states but again you work closely with your partners to ensure the content is the right fit based on each market’s particular characteristics.

What particular themes resonate with Canadian players?

It’s an interesting question, there are nuances between states based on the player demographics, so you couldn’t definitively say one theme fits all. Traditionally, themes such as nature, Egypt and content that originated from the land-based casino arena have worked well, and it’s true that a strong and popular theme will definitely attract and acquire players. But in our experience the game

mechanic and statistical profile retains those players and is possibly more important in terms of adding value over the longer term.

Ontario is the most recent Canadian market launch, but Alberta looks like it will soon follow. Do you have any hopes for that market?

We are currently live in five states; British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, adhering to the market specific regulatory framework within each. The announcement that

DAVID BOLAS Commercial Director Greentube

Alberta will soon release its own regulatory framework, similar in structure to Ontario, is really exciting news. Now we will have the opportunity to add another chapter to our Canadian success story. As expected, many of our current key partners in Ontario plan to launch in Alberta and so I’m highly confident we can recreate the value add that we have generated in previous Canadian states.

What are Greentube’s bestperforming titles in Ontario?

This year, we’ve had great success launching the first instalment of the Piggy Prizes franchise, and Piggy Prizes: Wand of Riches has been our number-one game in the Canadian market year-to-date. In addition, Charmin Lady’s Boom and the Diamond Cash and Thunder Cash series of linked progressives have really delivered great numbers across all states.

Finally, where are you most looking to see growth in Ontario/Canada – and where can you take more market share?

In terms of overall growth, we obviously start with Alberta, but there is great potential to further grow in all Canadian states. We will achieve this through continuing our close collaboration with current key partners and provincial operators, launching new partners and consistently delivering new, innovative and compelling content.

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A NEW OPPORTUNITY

VP and GM of iGaming and Sports Betting at PayNearMe, Leighton Webb, takes Gaming America through all things sweepstakes payments.

How do payments work in social and sweepstakes gaming?

Payments are an integral part of the sweepstakes gaming model. While purchases are not required, players have the option of making transactions throughout their gameplay – such as purchasing coin packages. Players may also accrue cash winnings, which means they’ll need to be able to redeem these in a traditional withdrawal process. Because of this, operators need to provide players with a purchase and redemption (deposit and payout) experience that’s seamless and user-friendly.

Sweepstakes operators often only accept cards or online banking as payment options for in-game purchases. But consumers have rising expectations of the payment and payout process within their gaming apps, and operators shouldn’t ignore these. Research we conducted in 2022 showed that 52% of players would make purchases/deposits more often if they had access to their preferred payment types, so operators should be offering a diverse mix of tenders in their cashier.

What is the general appeal both from a player and operator standpoint?

From a player standpoint, social and sweeps gaming is appealing for multiple reasons. Most players don’t view social gaming as a form of gambling and many don’t ever purchase coin packages—instead, they’re in it solely for entertainment and perhaps the chance to win a prize. For operators – particularly those new to online gaming – they’re excited about the prospect of another vertical and an approachable form of gameplay. The sweeps vertical is growing rapidly and gaming companies are always interested in creating new, entertaining content with mass-market appeal.

What difficulties do operators face when trying to enter new markets with social and sweepstakes gaming?

These segments are rapidly growing and new entrants must get to market quickly to compete. Time to market is critical and setting up an optimized payment stack quickly and efficiently is essential. While the social and sweepstakes space is currently unregulated, there are still standards that need to be met in terms of payments onboarding and compliance. Just like their real-money gaming operator counterparts, sweepstakes operators need to prepare proper compliance documents well in advance of entering the market.

How important, therefore, are compliance packages and an AML audit?

Compliance packages and an AML audit are critical, as is a written legal opinion. From a payments compliance standpoint, a complete compliance package is needed for

LEIGHTON WEBB VP and GM of iGaming and Sports Betting PayNearMe

onboarding, and a written legal opinion is a vital part of that. It takes a good deal of time to secure the letter – not to mention money – so planning is important. The legal opinion must be dated within the last year and must address federal law in addition to state regulations. Having a solid written legal opinion that meets all requirements is crucial; if it gets rejected and needs to be redone, operators can anticipate at least a three-month delay in going live. Other items to consider include an AML audit and documented geolocation/ age verification measures. AML policy should cover the four basic pillars of compliance, and one of the things it must include is a schedule for third-party review of policy effectiveness. Operators should have, as a minimum, an internal AML audit conducted, but a third-party audit will even better solidify their AML requirement when working with financial institutions. Finally, geolocation and age-verification controls audits are not always required for sweepstakes gaming, but the requirement is becoming more common; many banks will want to see these measures in place because of the differing legality of sweeps gaming between states.

How

does

PayNearMe help

with social and sweepstakes payments?

PayNearMe understands the specific needs of the gaming industry and has built our payments platform to streamline the user experience – boosting player satisfaction and retention – while future-proofing operators by providing a complete deposit and withdrawal solution. With the social and sweepstakes gaming vertical expanding rapidly, PayNearMe uses our industry experience to work alongside operators to get them to market quickly and compliantly.

GAMING AMERICA | PLAYER ENGAGEMENT

A ‘MEGA’ YEAR…

Soft2Bet CFO Max Portelli sits down with Gaming America to talk all-things gamification, his role in the product development cycle and future plans for the company.

2024 has been the year of MEGA for Soft2Bet. As we move through the second half of the year, how do you reflect on its debut and hope that its development will continue?

During the year, MEGA has been a gamechanger for Soft2Bet. Its debut has exceeded our expectations, in terms of player engagement which generated a positive recurring impact on our partners’ revenue streams. Key MEGA highlights:

a) Average of forty-five percent (45%) increase in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU);

b) Average of sixty-five percent (65%) raise in Net Gaming Revenue (NGR); and

c) Average of fifty percent (50%) positive impact on deposits amount, with a thirty percent (30%) increase in the overall deposits.

The launch of the MEGA concept across brands like Betinia.dk, Betinia.se, Betinia.com, Yoyocasino.se, Campobet.dk, Quickcasino.se and Don.ro has enabled Soft2Bet to cement its market position and recognition. As we move forward, our

goal is to continuously innovate within MEGA, ensuring it remains a key driver of engagement and an effective tool towards sustainable revenue for us and our partners.

You’ve also expanded in the North American market this year – most recently into Ontario – how do you feel your progress has been going on the continent?

North America remains a key focus for Soft2Bet, and our future plans reflect our commitment to this market. While sports betting is live in the majority of States, online casino is developing at a slower pace, with limited availability in a handful of states. The regulatory landscape is complex and varies from state to state. At the same time, we believe this will change as States will seek new revenue streams, and we are optimistic that more will embrace online gaming in the near future.

The US market presents long-term opportunities, especially as we continue to progress with our licensing process in New Jersey, whereby our aim is to be operational by the first quarter of 2025. This strategic entry will allow us to establish

a strong presence in the US market, building on our proven success in B2C, while offering our valuable B2B solutions. We are also actively involved in discussions with stakeholders to advocate for more favorable regulations that can accelerate the growth of iGaming across the country. Our approach is not just about entering the market but also about shaping its future in collaboration with industry partners.

As CFO, how would you describe your role regarding all the recent innovation and product development going on at Soft2Bet?

As the person responsible for overseeing the finance function of the group, before undertaking any form of investment, it is key to sit down with all the relevant stakeholders to assess and challenge the opportunity. When undertaking the process of researching and developing innovative products, resource identification and allocation is an unavoidable challenge. This calls for a detailed development plan with an effective and efficient allocation basis to support the entire product development whilst maintaining a healthy financial position. Numbers are key to

determine which direction the group should commit itself too. One has to keep in mind the opportunity cost element. Hence, accurate data supported with the right level of assumptions and projections is a must for an informed decision.

Together with my team, we work very closely with our colleagues from the product department. This allows us to forecast, allocate and minimize surprises as much as possible. As per our internal saying, no positive bottom line, no investment. All in all, innovative projects are always welcome as long as the right balance between innovation and sustainable growth is followed at all times.

Do you expect your gamification solution, MEGA, will be subject to continuous innovation and remain a key part of the Soft2Bet experience moving forward?

Absolutely. MEGA is central to our strategy and we are committed to its continuous evolution. The iGaming industry is competitive, dynamic and player preferences evolve rapidly. Hence, it’s crucial that MEGA stays ahead of these trends. We will continue to refine and expand its features, ensuring that it offers new and engaging experiences for players.

What sets MEGA apart are its unique gamification engines that bring an added layer of excitement and engagement to our casino offerings. From Avatars and Collectibles to more complex engines like City Builder and Stadium Builder, Bonus Crab, and our newly-launched Bonus Dice, each is designed to keep players entertained and coming back for more. MEGA also offers competitive elements like Weekly and One-Time Challenges, Weekly Leagues and Tournaments, as well as innovative mini-games like Bonus Shooting Range and Lucky Winner. This broad spectrum of features ensures that there’s always something fresh and exciting for players, no matter their interests or skill levels.

Looking ahead, we are actively exploring expansion opportunities in both new and existing markets. As we penetrate new

PLAYER ENGAGEMENT |

regulated territories like New Jersey (US), we see MEGA as a key differentiator that will help us stand out in a crowded space. Our focus is geared towards adapting and localizing these features to resonate with the preferences and regulations of each market. By doing so, MEGA will remain a cornerstone of the Soft2Bet experience, driving player retention and revenue growth for our partners.

Can you talk us through your approach to casino gamification? Why is gamification so important to Soft2Bet?

In today’s market, gamification isn’t just a trend — it’s a game-changer. For both Soft2Bet and the broader iGaming industry, it represents the future of player engagement. Traditional loyalty programs have started to lose their edge, offering little more than basic rewards that fail to captivate high-value players. The industry urgently needs fresh approaches that go beyond these outdated methods, and that’s where gamification steps in.

Gamification transforms the entire player journey into an engaging adventure, moving away from simple transactions to create dynamic, personalized experiences.

Our engines are designed to give players more than just a game; they provide challenges, rewards, and interactive elements that speak directly to individual preferences. This shift not only keeps players hooked but also extends their time on our platforms, driving higher conversion rates and increased revenues in a more sustainable way.

Our focus on gamification aligns with what the market believes will shape the future of iGaming. We conducted a recent survey on LinkedIn which shows that twenty-three percent (23%) of industry professionals point to gamification as the next most critical component; outweighing even regulatory innovation and social gaming. At Soft2Bet, we recognize this shift and are leading the charge by integrating sophisticated gamification engines that drive player acquisition, retention and overall satisfaction. For us, gamification isn’t just a strategy; it’s a core philosophy that influences every aspect of our offering. It reduces the need for traditional bonuses and promotions, allowing us to build deeper connections with players while making our marketing efforts more cost-effective. Our approach ensures that every interaction is meaningful, every challenge is exciting, and every reward feels truly earned.

How do player rewards fit into your strategy of player acquisition and retention?

MAX PORTELLI CFO Soft2Bet

Player rewards are integral to our strategy for both acquisition and retention. By offering personalized rewards that align with each player’s behavior and preferences, we create a more engaging and satisfying experience. This personalized approach helps us attract new players who are looking for more than just standard promotions. Once acquired, these players are more likely to stay engaged and loyal because they feel valued and understood. Our reward systems, powered by MEGA, are designed to evolve with the player, ensuring that the experience remains fresh and exciting over time, which is crucial for long-term retention.

WHAT'S NEW?

Gaming America reviews what's new on the casino oor, with products from Gaming Arts, Crane Payment Innovations and Aruze Gaming Global.

GAMING ARTS: BIG CATCH BASS FISHING

Big Catch Bass Fishing is the latest evolution of cash-on-reels excitement! Offered on the VertX Grand and featuring gameplay from a top-performing online game, Big Catch Bass Fishing is sure to reel players in. Players looking for a gamble will be excited by the large cash-on-reels symbols and the possibility of winning them multiple times.

Any time the Fisherman symbol appears on the reels, all fishes with currency values are awarded to the player immediately. Multiple Fisherman means multiple awards. Denom-scaling Mini & Minor fish instantly award jackpots when the Fisherman lands on the same spin for exciting big wins.

Major & Grand fish instantly award their progressive when the Fisherman lands on the same spin making it a truly exhilarating event. The Free Games bonus enhances the player experience with more prizes, more Fishermen, jackpots and randomly awarded line wins or prizes.

Don’t miss out on this high-energy escapade that combines the allure of fishing with the excitement of slot machine entertainment. Cast your line and reel in a big one in the new and stimulating Big Catch Bass Fishing game!

LEADERSHIP Q&A s : The CEOs of BoyleSports & Svenska Spel join us MARKET FOCUSES: ROUNDTABLE: Sept/Oct 2024

STANDING STRONG

STANDING STRONG

Gambling Insider assesses the state of US online gaming. As some decide to leave the space, others are in pole position to capitalise

Gambling Insider assesses the state of US online gaming. As some decide to leave the space, others are in pole position to capitalise

MARKET FOCUSES: ROUNDTABLE:

LEADERSHIP Q&A s : The CEOs of BoyleSports & Svenska Spel join us

What goes into a winning slot theme – and its design?

What goes into a winning slot theme – and its design?

Latin America, Alberta, Australia & South

Latin America, Alberta, Australia & South Africa

GAMING AMERICA | PRODUCT REVIEWS

CPI: BETBRIDGE™ CASHLESS SOLUTION

Crane Payment Innovations (CPI) has launched its Betbridge™ cashless solution, which is designed to enable and streamline cashless payments in casinos. Betbridge™ solution enables at-machine mobile wallet payments with just a few updates to the reliable SC Advance Note Validator™. This provides an enhanced playing experience for patrons, who have been shown to prefer cashless payments across the board.

The trend towards cashless payments has been growing in the industry, with casinos aiming to streamline operations and enhance player experiences. However, challenges such as complex pricing and infrastructure updates have slowed adoption.

Rather than bundling cashless with a CMS upgrade, the Betbridge™ cashless solution offers a simplified implementation process and transparent pricing, facilitating a smoother transition to cashless payments for casinos. The release of Betbridge™ cashless solution signifies a paradigm shift in how consumers engage with casino payment systems, offering convenient, seamless and secure payments that will improve the playing experience for patrons.

The latest solution by CPI offers a faster way to implement cashless solutions by creating a path between the players’ mobile wallets and the gaming machine through a Bluetooth connection into the widely-used SC Advance Note Validator™. Removing the need for extensive technology upgrades or a high-speed floor, Betbridge™ cashless solution works with any existing system, game and mobile wallet, making it a completely agnostic solution for casinos and easy to use for players.

By including critical elements of implementation with the Betbridge™ cashless solution such as site surveys, installation, activation and ongoing support, CPI is empowering casinos to make a smooth shift to cashless gaming. Betbridge™ cashless solution ensures an effortless adaptation for casinos and an enhanced gaming experience for patrons who no longer have to interrupt their play to get more cash.

“PROVIDES AN ENHANCED PLAYING EXPERIENCE FOR PATRONS, WHO HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO PREFER CASHLESS PAYMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD.”

INSIDE

Football & soccer: New hopes for the new season

Data review: Euro 2024 & Copa America tournaments US sportsbooks: In defence of revenue over profi t?

STILL IN PLAY

Same game. New ways of playing. Are same-game parlays and bet builders changing the industry?

GAMING AMERICA | PRODUCT REVIEWS

ARUZE – MUSO SUMMIT

Aruze Gaming Global (AG2) is a leading provider of innovative gaming solutions, committed to delivering unparalleled entertainment experiences.

With a diverse portfolio of cutting-edge products and services, AG2 continues to set new standards in the gaming industry. The company’s dedication to regulatory compliance, integrity and responsible gaming positions it as a trusted partner for operators worldwide.

August was AG2’s first birthday and the company is celebrating big at G2E 2024.

something big and exciting

This year, AG2 will have something big and exciting gracing the floor of its booth, introducing a sparkling NEW cabinet to its already solid lineup!

introducing a

We have reached a peak; now introducing the SUMMIT: A New Era in Gaming.

The MUSO SUMMIT cabinet is a fresh wave of innovation in casino gaming.

Featuring a striking 49” vertical 4K display and a 27” topper LCD screen, it offers an impressive 180-degree viewing angle with side Mini-LED panels, ensuring a captivating and immersive gaming experience.

The design is dramatically enhanced with cutting-edge LED lighting, meticulously integrated into sleek transmissive 3D molding around and above the button deck, creating an ultra-modern and captivating ambiance.

The MUSO SUMMIT is built providing high reliability and performance, guaranteed smooth gameplay and highquality graphics, which will make every gaming session enjoyable.

Experience a new level of gaming with the MUSO SUMMIT, where cutting-edge technology meets stylish design.

To view the MUSO SUMMIT, you’ll have to come see it for yourself in booth 2040 at G2E. AG2 is looking forward to another amazing year at the event!