24 Indian Gaming March 2020

Sports betting is fast becoming an exciting new casino offering for a number of tribes in IndianCountry. We spoke with some of the first to launch sports betting at their properties in the U.S.Here is what they had to say...

Spotlight on Sports Betting

EXECUTIVE Q&A

Coquille Indian TribeThe Mill Casino Hotel & RV ParkKatherine Hoppe, Tourism & Content Mgr.Joe Bard, Director of Slots & Sports Betting

LAUNCH – Katherine Hoppe (KH): Sports betting went liveat The Mill Casino on October 29, 2019, and we weren't surewhat to expect – this was a new world for us. We very quietlylaunched before we even talked about it publicly, just to makesure our staff training was in place and we had all of the col-lateral we needed. From there, it's been exciting. We arefinally at a place where we are comfortable enough to throwspecial events around sports betting. We feel like our staff hasit dialed in and our customers are actually pretty knowledge-able about it. It's been great so far. We have six kiosks – four placed right outside of our sports bar, and two by our cage.

Joe Bard (JB): People use the two kiosks by the front dooroften on a game day. They'll just pull up outside in their car,pop in, pop out. Those get used heavily.

KH: We have staff that roam around on heavy game daysand stay as fixtures near the sports kiosks to assist with anything.If anyone has any disability issues, they can go to cage and we'llmake forms available, but for the most part, almost all of theaction happens on the kiosks. We have 18 television screens inour sports bar and a wide array of offerings. We're actuallyadding more screens to accommodate all of the different tastespeople have in what they want to watch.

REACTION – JB: We’ve had a lot of positive feedback. It'sbeen a learning curve for some guests, but many that didn't bet

on sports before are starting to learn how, and everybodyseems very excited. We see a lot of guests that we haven't seenfrequently before now spending a lot more time on the floor,so that's been a positive experience.

KH: We're seeing a bigger demographic. Casinos, in general, have a much older audience, and so it's nice to see ayounger demographic come in as well. Of course, our olderguests still love the casino, but we're seeing a lot of new faces.On really big game days, when you're in the bar, it's packedand everyone's cheering. It's exciting to see and just contagious –a great vibe and fun atmosphere.

JB: We wanted to start small and let it grow. Right now, we'restill in a growth period. We want to see where it plateaus, if itdoes, and if there's a need in the future, we will look at open-ing a sports counter. But right now, we're going to watch, waitand see.

KH: One of the big tests is going to be March Madness. Inthe State of Oregon, the lottery launched a sports betting app,but you cannot bet on college sports through the state – you can only do so at tribal casinos. So for us, March Madnessis prime time. You can never get too comfortable, but we feel that our staff and bar are ready. We'll be doing a big pushfor that to see what we can learn and what story that is goingto tell.

VENDOR – JB: We took interviews with several companies,but decided to go with IGT because we have a long history withthem. We've done a lot of business with IGT and they are very

Katherine Hoppe and Joe Bard

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EXECUTIVE Q&A

supportive of their products. They partner with Betgenius, whohave been in the sports betting industry for quite a while. We thought that would be a great partnership – IGT suppliesthe support and the infrastructure and Betgenius supplies allof the betting information. So far, it's been a great experiencewith Betgenius and with our continued partnership with IGT.

Mescalero Apache TribeInn of the Mountain Gods Resort & CasinoFrizzell J. Frizzell Jr., Chief Operating Officer

LAUNCH: We opened oursportsbook in late July of last year,and it has been a long time in themaking. Once the Supreme Courtruled that we could have sportsbetting, we wanted to make surethat we did everything the rightway to make sure it was legal andwithin the law of our compact.

We have a four-window termi-nal at Inn of the Mountain Godsright now in addition to a largeviewing area with seating. We also

have a kiosk that's located near the bar for after hours, so whenthe sportsbook is closed, anybody can still bet there.

REACTION: It has been a huge success since we've opened,especially with the football season, and we've been able to attracta lot of customers that typically don't play slots or table games –people that aren't into casino gambling in general, but like tobet on sports. These customers are able to gamble in a legalway and not have to spend additional money going to placeslike Las Vegas to do it. We've been very pleased with how it'staken off and the type of customers that we are being able toserve. As a resort destination, we really get to know our customers because we have a lot of repeat business. It's beennice to see new faces on the floor that are coming just for

sports betting, and then be able to introduce them to our widerange of amenities across the property. Sports betting hasbrought a whole new piece of business to us that we are reallyenjoying.

VENDOR: We wanted to partner with the right company,which we found in William Hill, one of the largest sportsbooksin the country. So far, I believe we are the only Native American property to have partnered with them. We wantedto make sure that we were offering our customers the best betting lines in the business, and a similar product to what theyare used to seeing when they go to Las Vegas. Our sister property, Casino Apache Travel Center, doesn’t currently havesports betting, but we are working on a separate agreement withWilliam Hill for that property, and are hoping to have that upand running by summertime.

Mississippi Band of Choctaw IndiansPearl River ResortWilliam “Sonny” Johnson, President & CEONeal Atkinson, Director of Table GamesChristopher Hopwood, Director of Sportsbook

LAUNCH – Sonny Johnson (SJ): We began working on thepossibility of a sportsbook a number of years ago, and finallylaunched on August 30, 2018.

Christopher Hopwood: We have the Sportsbook at TimeoutLounge located here at Golden Moon, and also a casino locatedabout an hour and a half south in Sandersville, MS that has itsown sportsbook. Here at the main resort, we have a mobile app,which can only be used on premise; a retail counter; kiosks; andIGT CrystalBetting Terminals that we are doing a trial phasewith. At our other location, we have a retail counter, mobileapp and kiosks. We haven't had the CrystalBetting Terminaldown there yet, but we're working on that.

Neal Atkinson (NA): One of the things that we are proudof is that we consider ourselves a truly independent sports book.Our risk profile is decided locally, and it gives us a lot more flexibility.

REACTION – SJ: I didn't expect a lot out of sports gaming

Frizzell J. Frizzell Jr.

Sonny Johnson Neal Atkinson Christopher Hopwood

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EXECUTIVE Q&A

in Mississippi, but knew it was important to do. We had theopportunity to be the first tribal casino to do it outside of a smalltribal casino in Nevada. From day one, it has exceeded myexpectations. My hope was to be up and running by footballseason and take one bet that day, which I would have been happywith. But a huge line formed during our grand opening and ithas never gone away. We have been busy at both locations waybeyond expectations. I'm being conservative when I say about95% of our business is new business in the sportsbook. It's acompletely new demographic for us – a younger demographic– not our established slot, table games or poker customers. Wedo notice that these new groups of people at both casinos willcome in and also play table games, some slots and some poker.

Launching our sportsbetting operation wasn't something oneor two people accomplished. It was a group effort. The tribe,Chief, Tribal Council and almost every department at ourcasinos were involved in this process. We all worked togetherand went from not having a sportsbook space to a fully operational sportsbook in a matter of a few months. It is wellrun and has been well received, which is quite an accomplish-ment for everyone.

VENDOR: NA: I was part of the project team that selectedour vendor before we were fortunate to have Chris Hopwoodcome onboard. We went to GiGse in Florida, which was twoweeks after the PASPA ruling, and we were in nonstop meet-ings from sunup and to sundown in front of every prospectivevendor that we could get in front of. That was a three or fourday exercise on our part.

We pared down our selections to a smaller group of vendors,and IGT became the natural choice for us on the huge criteria that we had. We had an existing relationship with IGT from all of the slot and table games products, they werealready licensed with our Choctaw Gaming commission, havea very good pedigree, and were already operating in a U.S. regulatory market in Nevada. They were also the only companyto solidly commit to being able to make the aggressive and firmdeadline established by our tribal ownership.

Pueblo of IsletaIsleta Resort & CasinoHarold Baugus, CEO

LAUNCH: We opened oursports betting operation on August12th, 2019, becoming the thirdcasino in the state to get up andrunning. We took a bit of extratime, a little over a year, because wewanted to be thorough and makesure sports betting was a viableventure for us to be getting into.The first thing we had to do wasbecome educated and determinethe best path forward. We reachedout to the University of Nevada,

Las Vegas (UNLV), who provided training for our staff, regulators and even our tribal council, who are the ultimate decision makers and the ones who say ‘you can do this or not.’Everybody went through a training process.

Because we were undergoing some construction and didn'thave the space available yet, we set up a temporary space onthe gaming floor, which opened August 12th. Then we openedour large facility November 4th, which consists of an entertain-ment area and a bar where we also serve food from our foodcourt. We currently utilize four kiosks and five betting counterstations.

REACTION: The sports betting operation has been produc-tive for us from an acquisition standpoint as we require everyplayer to utilize a player's club card. This helps us ensure weare in compliance with our CTRC filings, and also allows usto track and market to those individuals. It also helps us findout about crossover play to table games, slot machines and foodand beverage. How beneficial is bookmaking? It's not a major

Harold Baugus

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revenue driver – it doesn't make as much money as slots or tablegames, but it is profitable at a level. The ancillary informationthat we are gaining is just as valuable as the bet and the profitwe are making off the bet. It also generates a residual effect andcrossover to other parts of the casino and has become anentertainment area because we've built a sports bar around it,creating a place to go. When the NFL playoffs were here, itcreated synergy across the property. We also featured theMcGregor and Cowboy pay-per-view fight in January, whichwe were at capacity for.

VENDOR: A common misconception is that you have to bringa bookmaker in and have all of this extra talent onboard – you don't. We did not want to assume the risk managementwhen it came to the betting and creating of the lines. It's possible to contract with a company that provides that service,which is what we did. We went through a vetting process ofmultiple companies who provide that service and choseUSBookmaking.

Any tribes interested in getting into sports betting are welcome to reach out to us for information. We would be morethan happy to give them a number of shortcuts and discuss some

of the positive things that we have learned, and some of thethings that weren't so positive – so tribes new to sports bettingwon't have to go through them.

Saint Regis Mohawk TribeAkwesasne Mohawk Casino ResortTodd Papineau, General Manager

LAUNCH: The day beforeThanksgiving, 2019, we softlaunched four kiosks on the casinofloor near our table games pit, as oursportsbook venue was still underconstruction. We subsquently finished construction and held thegrand opening of the Sticks SportsBook & Grill on January 17, 2020.The space features a bar area, videowall, TVs, and two sports writerswho take in person bets. We alsofeature four kiosks in addition to

the four on the casino floor, for a total of eight kiosks at the property.

REACTION: People were waiting all summer for us to getsports betting once it became legal in New York State. Guestswere eager to start betting; asking often, ‘Is it ready yet?’ They were asking all fall. We caught the tail end of the footballseason; it created new excitement in the casino and we havewatched our write increase each week. The growth has exceededour expectations.

We notice a change in the demographic for the sportsbook.Our wagering starts at age 18, so we see a lot of 18-40 year oldpeople in the book placing wagers, watching the sportingevents, and cheering for their favorite team. We are experiencingwhat I hear other casinos have as far as drawing a new, youngercrowd.

Todd Papineau

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EXECUTIVE Q&A

VENDOR: We went with The Stars Group. We thought theywould be a great fit for us; they feel like a true partner. Theirsupport has been great and we look forward to working onmobile wagering with them in New York State. The Stars Groupbrought on IGT for their wagering kiosks and wagering system. We manage the on-site sportsbook.

Seneca Nation of IndiansSeneca Niagara Resort & CasinoSeneca Buffalo Creek CasinoSeneca Allegany Resort & CasinoGavin Mercado, Executive Director ofSportsbook & Interactive Gaming

LAUNCH: We estab-lished our operations inDecember of 2019 with aribbon cutting at BuffaloCreek on December 13th.We opened up sports betting at our Alleganyproperty a week later, andthen Niagara Falls rightbefore the New Year. Wehad sports betting open at

all three properties in themonth of December, which

was huge for us and for the area of Western NewYork, a big sports driven area. To be able to offer this new amenity to our guests is exciting for us andexciting for the area.

We have kiosks at all three properties where guests

can place their own wagers, and then we have operationalwindows where guests can verbally place wagers. We also offerlive action and a bunch of different wagers. On a typical NFL football game, we have over 180 different bets guests canplace. We have tons to offer.

When we opened the sportsbooks, we wanted to provide asense of community for our guests and a place where they couldcome and feel comfortable enjoying this new amenity. Sportsbetting may be intimidating at times, but our staff have brightand positive attitudes, which keeps it fun and exciting for ourguests.

REACTION: Anything that is new is exciting for our guests,and the reaction has been very positive. We have a lot of newguests that are coming in to these properties just for sports betting that might not have been on property before for table

games or slots. New guests are coming inand the reaction has been very positivewith regard to sports betting, but also forthe gaming floor. These guests are comingin, placing sports bets, then going to thegaming floor for slots, table games, or toenjoy our incredible restaurants. It hasimpacted the whole property so far.

VENDOR: We partnered with Kambi,a U.K. provider, who helps to set our linesand helps with the risk side of everything.They have been top notch so far. Becausewe offer live action, Kambi helps set thoselines, which change based on the plays during a game and depending on how muchtime is left. We are very excited and happywith how everything is going so far. ®

Gavin Mercado