Tribal gaming – FairOdds Network

April 4, 2025

State of the Union: Tribes-SBA consider California sports betting plan; gambling stocks plunge, more

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

Movement in California sports betting talks

The gambling industry converged in San Diego for the 2025 Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention, one of the nation’s largest tribal gambling events on the annual conference circuit. The show kicked off with a panel that featured two of the nation’s most prominent executives in the sports betting industry.

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins made a rare appearance on 31 March during a panel moderated by conference chair Victor Rocha. Robins was joined by Christian Genetski, who serves as president of FanDuel Group. Both executives sang the praises of tribal gaming after both lost millions in a failed attempt to bring sports betting to California in 2022.

Speaking at IGA in San Diego, Jason Robins emphasized that maintaining relationships between operators and the tribes ..

April 1, 2025

In rare appearance, Genetski, Robins sing tribal praises at IGA

Nearly three years removed from a disastrous attempt to bring sports betting to California, the heads of FanDuel and DraftKings made a rare public appearance on Monday (31 March) in efforts to curry favour with tribal gaming stakeholders.

FanDuel president Christian Genetski joined DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins to discuss their companies’ tribal gaming strategies with Victor Rocha, conference chair of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA). The trio headlined the first day of the Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention in San Diego.

On paper, the conversation was about tribes and operators “structuring successful partnerships” to ensure “long-term sustainability”. But the packed crowd of industry representatives knew that the backdrop of the conversation was much more controversial.

A coalition of commercial bookmakers led by FanDuel and DraftKings in 2022 spent hundreds of millions on Prop 27, which would have legalised mobile sports betting in California. Tribes also put..

March 10, 2025

Many more testify against Nebraska digital sports betting than for it

Nebraska lawmakers heard three-plus hours of testimony during their first legal digital betting hearing. There was no vote, but opponents dominated the session.

On Monday (10 March) the Nebraska legislature’s general affairs committee heard from representatives from all sides of the issue concerning four legal sports betting bills.

The only thing proponents and opponents agreed on is that online wagering is already happening on the black market in Nebraska. Proponents say that legalising will give law enforcement the tools to tamp down the illegal market. Opponents counter that legalising will only increase the number of people gambling in total.

Retail betting has been available to Nebraskans in certain locations since 2023 and some lawmakers have been trying unsuccessfully for several years to add digital betting to the menu. Most recently, the issue failed to receive floor consideration during a summer special session.

Monday’s first committee hearing was for LR20CA, a constit..

February 28, 2025

State of the Union: College basketball black eyes, Brennan leaving Prime Sports, more

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

Two college hoop teams investigated over gambling

Just over two weeks ahead of Selection Sunday, college basketball is getting more black eyes. Two universities have opened gambling investigations.

College basketball analyst Jeff Goodman tweeted on 26 February that the four University of New Orleans (UNO) players who have been benched since late January are now under investigation for gambling. In addition, on the West Coast, Fresno State sat out two players on 22 February in the midst of a gambling investigation.

The New Orleans men’s basketball team has held out four of its top five scorers since a Jan. 27 loss to UIW due to an investigation into sports gambling, sources told @TheFieldOf68.
Leading scorer James White (19.2 ppg), Jah Short (9.2 ppg), Dae Dae Hunter (8.2 ppg) and Jamond…
— Jeff Goodman (..

January 22, 2025

ICE: California tribes won’t try for wagering legalisation in 2026

On Tuesday (21 January) a panel of California tribal leaders told ICE participants that they won't put legal sports betting on the 2026 ballot. Indian Country has reached some consensus, but polling indicates voters aren't interested.

California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman James Siva said that tribes have “come too far and have too far to go to rush into this complex sports betting (issue) which is tied to igaming”. His remarks led a chorus during the ‘State of Gambling in California: Current Trends and Future Prospects’ discussion at the ICE convention in Barcelona.

Siva was joined by Pechanga Band of Mission Indians councilmember Catalina Chacon and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians vice chairman Johnny Hernandez. The panel was the last of four put on by the Indian Gaming Association (IGA). A how-to guide for working with Indian Country, a history of how San Manuel grew gaming and a discussion about remaining growth opportunities for tribal sport..

January 10, 2025

State of the Union: DraftKings-Delta deal just words right now, CA lawsuit update, more

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

Don’t bet on betting on Delta just yet

On 8 January DraftKings and Delta Airlines announced a partnership that could eventually allow bettors to use the sportsbook app while on a flight. But View from the Wing writes that in-flight betting is against US law. The deal could be worth up $1.3 billion if it becomes legal to bet on US flights.

According to View from the Wing, in-flight gambling isn’t new. For “32 years, however, it was legal for foreign airlines flying to and from the US”, according to the publication. Airlines like Singapore Air, Swissair and RyanAir have all dabbled in it, but none had a gambling programme that stuck.

Announced at a CES presentation at the Sphere in Las Vegas, the announcement seems bigger than the actual deal. For now, there’s a partnership, but no betting, although View fro..

December 20, 2024

State of the Union: Digital driver’s licences, latest Bally Bet launch and more

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

Ohio casinos now take mobile driver’s licences

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) 18 December announced a first. The state’s land-based casinos are now accepting mobile driver’s licences for age and identity verification. Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, Hollywood Casino Columbus, Hollywood Casino Toledo and JACK Casino Cleveland will take the licences, which Ohioans can add to their Apple wallets. Patrons can show the mobile licence on a phone or Apple watch.

“From a regulatory perspective, accurate, safe and secure identification for entry into Ohio’s casinos is foundational to ensuring the integrity of casino gaming,” Tom Stickrath, OCCC chair, said via press release. “The Ohio Mobile ID leverages cutting-edge technology to provide a simple and secure method for verifying age and identity.”

🚨 New ann..

November 21, 2024

CA tribes to sweepstakes operators: “We don’t negotiate with terrorists”

In the latest edition of the New Normal webinar series today (21 November), host Victor Rocha said there is no room for discussion between California tribes and sweepstakes operators. The time has come to explore enforcement actions.

Rocha, conference chair for the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), was joined by fellow host and IGA executive director Jason Giles. This week’s guest was Jonodev Chaudhuri, principal at Chaudhuri Law and former chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).

The theme of the episode was regulation and enforcement. More specifically, Rocha and Giles sought to know what tools the NIGC – and state and federal governments – can use to fight the proliferation of sweepstakes sites.

“You see the entire industry is reacting to this,” Rocha said. He noted that among California tribes in particular, “you’re starting to see the outrage” that typically follows attempts to encroach on tribal exclusivity.

He later asserted that there is no room for collabo..

October 28, 2024

West Flagler stands down in Florida and announces partnership with Seminoles

After multiple years of legal challenges, Florida's Seminole tribe announced a new partnership with West Flagler and Associates on Monday (28 October) to promote jai alai on the tribe's Hard Rock Bet app.

The announcement came four months after the US Supreme Court declined to hear the West Flagler case against the US Department of Justice (DoJ). That decision allowed an appellate court decision to stand. At its heart, the ruling made it legal for the Seminoles to offer digital sports betting anywhere within Florida.

West Flagler and the Seminoles agreed to “refrain from engaging in any future litigation with respect to the Seminole tribe’s gaming operations”, according to a release. The announcement is a stunning reversal for the two sides. West Flagler, owners of two Florida pari-mutuels, spent three years and untold dollars in federal and state court battles in an attempt to declare the 2021 Seminole-Florida compact invalid.

“As I said when this litigation first star..

October 18, 2024

Ute tribes’ Colorado lawsuit could set a precedent that goes beyond West Flagler

A pair of Colorado tribes are suing the state over the right to offer digital sports betting off reservation. The Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes argue that the West Flagler decision in Florida makes it so they have the right to offer statewide mobile betting under federal law. But does it?
The Southern Utes filed their lawsuit in July, about a week after the US Supreme Court declined to hear West Flagler vs Haaland. That case, decided in the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, made it legal for the Florida Seminoles to offer statewide mobile betting.

The Ute Mountain Utes joined the Colorado lawsuit in September. The case is filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado. And on Wednesday (16 October) the governor, Jared Polis, filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed.

It’s clear from the text of the complaint that the relationship between the tribes and the state has become strained. For a tribe to to offer digital wagering thro..

October 14, 2024

Tribes acknowledge Oklahoma wagering bill coming but is there a path forward?

At the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) last week Matt Morgan, head of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA), said that while tribes are open to discussing the future of sports betting, they'll stand still until Governor Kevin Stitt moves on or changes his position.
Stitt, who became Oklahoma’s governor in 2018, has had a difficult relationship with Indian country. He has been sued by lawmakers over compact negotiations and has alienated the tribes by trying to dictate what legal wagering will look like without considering sovereignty or exclusivity.

Oklahoma is the second biggest tribal market in the US behind California and has a robust land-based casino industry. The state’s 39 tribes operate more than 125 gaming locations, including some that draw customers from neighbouring Texas. But legal sports betting remains elusive.

The tribes have exclusivity for gaming in Oklahoma. Despite that, Stitt last year outlined a legal wagering framework that included tribal and commerci..

October 12, 2024

G2E: Let’s make a deal! Minnesota stakeholders have “framework” but politics still in play

Buried under the news that California tribes could bring a sports betting initiative as soon as 2026 is this: Minnesota's stakeholders have brokered a deal.
Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) executive director Andy Platto was among the panelists who joined California Nations Indian Chairman James Siva on Tuesday (8 October) on a Global Gaming Expo (G2E) panel entitled ‘Tribal Sovereignty and Sports Betting: A Delicate Balance’.

Minnesota lawmakers have been trying for multiple sessions to legalise retail and digital sports betting. It never got a vote this year, but did get through the house in 2022.

Platto, who heads up the state’s tribal alliance, has been the face and voice of Indian Country. Over time, that has meant managing relationships with charitable gaming folks, horse racetracks and, more recently, professional sports teams. The tribes in Minnesota have exclusivity for gaming in the state and already operate land-based casinos.

But legal wagering, partic..

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Tag: Tribal gaming