BY THE NUMBERS
TRIbal EConomIC DIvERsITy
most financial experts agree that tribes that depend solely upon gaming revenues need to diversify their economy if they want the “ seven generations ” that they say they are protecting to thrive . A report prepared by Wells Fargo Bank and Boston Consulting Group spells out solutions for economic self-sufficiency for the 574 federally recognized tribes — gaming and in the U . S .
“ Tribal communities have been impacted by economic events over the last 20-plus years : 9 / 11 , the great financial crisis , and Covid ,” Dawson Her Many Horses , the lead researcher for Wells Fargo , said . “ This report was born out of that , reflecting on those experiences and our desire to support our clients and stakeholders in a way that ’ s meaningful and reflects our expertise in the market .”
One of the major problems for tribes of all sizes is the lack of access to capital . The chart at right demonstrates the few resources tribes can access .
The report provides tribal leaders a framework to think about other economic development opportunities with the profits they make from the casinos .
“ It helps them think about other ways they can leverage their assets , to help them withstand the next economic downturn ,” Her Many Horses said . “ It ’ s a big report , but we think there ’ s a lot in it that folks will find useful .”
He hopes private investors will take a look at tribal communities .
“ When we look at the banking landscape available for
Capital landscape differs by type , investment range and volume of capital
tribal communities , what we see is that a lot of the financial institutions that are available in mainstream America don ’ t necessarily go into or have exposure to Native America : venture capital , private equity , regional banks , national banks . You know , there are a lot of banks that just haven ’ t done much or may not know about opportunities in tribal communities ,” Her Many Horses said .
To download a copy of the report , visit wellsfargo . com / com / focus / tribal-economic-report . online measures online gaming is only legal in six U . S . jurisdictions , but in 2021 it produced more than $ 3.8 billion in gross gaming revenues . So Eilers & Krejcik launched its Online Game Performance Report , in which it evaluates 29 online gaming sites with a total of 1,780 unique game themes , with 36,565 games tracked each month in five of those states — New Jersey , Pennsylvania , West Virginia , Connecticut and Michigan — representing almost 60 percent of the active market . The chart at right gives a breakdown of the games that are offered by 22 companies across those online casinos . Evolution , which specializes in “ live ” gaming , has the lead by far , accounting for 27 percent of the total GGR in October 2022 . Most of the other major game suppliers come next , and then some online-games-only companies making some progress . To obtain a copy of any Eilers & Krejcik reports , contact Rick Eckert at reckert @ ekgamingllc . com .
Key Insights — GGR & Games Tracked
6 Global Gaming Business DECEMBER 2022