How will the legalization of sports betting affect on Tribal Gaming? Much of the American Indian casino industry is at least temporarily opting out of sports betting, discouraged at the anticipated low profit margins and rebuffed by federal and state regulatory and legislative hurdles required to take wagers on college and professional sports.

But the debate surrounding sports betting is accelerating efforts to advance tribal government casinos from traditional gambling to internet and mobile technology, a transition believed necessary to generate interest from a younger generation of customers. “This certainly ramps up the conversation of what comes next in the evolution of gaming in Indian Country,” says Billy David, an Oregon Klamath and spokesman for the Tribal Alliance, a consortium of some 40 tribal regulatory commissions. “This is a defining time for tribal gaming. How do we properly move forward?”

The sports wagering impact on Indian gambling nationwide, which saw a 3.9 percent growth in 2017 to $32.4 billion, will be minimal, she says.

“The reality is there’s not a lot of money in sports betting, from the operator’s perspective,” agrees a tribal gambling industry official who requested anonymity. “It’s just not there.”

More at Global Gaming Business