GAMING AMERICA | FLEXIA PAYMENTS
A PAYMENTS PERSPECTIVE ON TRIBAL GAMING We spoke with Gina Lanphear, Director of Marketing at Flexia Payments, to discuss the company’s perspective on tribal gaming, as well as the upcoming NIGA tradeshow.
GINA LANPHEAR Flexia Payments Director of Marketing What is Flexia’s approach to tribal gaming? Does it differ in any way to your approach to newer commercial gaming operators? Just as no two casino operators are alike, cashless convenience is also not a one-size-fits-all solution. That is why we collaborate with our tribal partners to customize our solution to the needs of their operations, and fully integrate the robust and innovative capabilities of our product into their existing systems. While many cashless solutions constrain themselves and the gaming operator, by focusing solely on funding a gaming account or gaming session without cash, we aim to take a different approach at Flexia. Our goal from the beginning has been to not only provide a seamless 28 | GAMINGAMERICA
cashless experience, but to more fully address the various configurations that the tribal operator might have – including single casino vs. multi-casino groups, integrated loyalty system vs. stand-alone loyalty system, one-to-one gaming account or one-to-many gaming account – as well as to address the various tribal gaming channels of land-based, online and sportsbook. And we realize that tribal enterprises consist of more than just gaming operations. Many include integrated resorts, retail outlets, golf courses, gas stations, convenience stores and more. The Flexia platform hopes to provide a seamless cashless solution across these business entities.
With the growth of commercial operators across the US, especially in sports betting, do you have some insights into how tribal operators can compete with these ever-expanding giants? Or should they be looking to work with them? Sports betting is certainly having phenomenal progress and tribal casino operators are embracing this new area of gaming as a revenue growth opportunity; and a new form of entertainment for their customers. Fortunately, operators have many options when it comes to sports betting programs and software, as most sports betting operators are all using third-party sports betting platforms with similar technology. The question for the casino becomes: what’s more important – promoting the casino’s own brand with the same technology as the big sports
betting operators, or benefitting from the marketing spend and brand recognition of working with the major sports betting operators? We hope that Flexia’s platform can serve as a middleware between land-based gaming accounts and sports betting accounts, and can facilitate the migration of your land-based customers to your online gaming platform.
What will you be showcasing at the NIGA tradeshow this year? Do you have any upcoming products you would like to preview? We are expanding our presence at the upcoming Indian Gaming Conference & Tradeshow, where we look forward to demonstrating the benefits and operational advantages of Flexia’s Cashless Solution for tribal gaming operations and beyond. The customizable, fully integrated Flexia Cashless Solution is designed with the hope of combining multiple accounts – casino and online gaming, casino loyalty program and a Mastercard account – in a single mobile solution, providing players flexibility to fund and use their gaming accounts; and enabling customers to earn casino loyalty points for spend outside of the casino. We will also demonstrate that Flexia lets players earn casino loyalty points from casino play and Mastercard spend both inside and outside the casino; allowing customers to achieve VIP loyalty status faster and access unique, member-only promotional benefits customized to their preferences and spending habits.
