How Tribal regulators are benefiting from access to critical education from one gaming vendor partner
I’ve worked in the gaming industry for over 35 years, 27 of them in Indian Country, and throughout those years I’ve had the opportunity to witness a lot of giving to communities.
Many Tribes who dove into the sea of casino gaming many years ago have seen the impact of their successful enterprises, and their success has allowed for a tremendous wave of giving back. They’ve helped contribute to their membership, healthcare and education access, housing and elder services. Many have been able to donate to their bordering communities, local organizations and their fellow Tribes who perhaps have chosen not to take the dip into gaming.
Tribes who’ve experienced financial success and self-sufficiency say that they attribute their achievements to their value of education. Thriving Tribal gaming enterprises rarely cut corners on the budget when it comes to ensuring that they are delivering critical and timely training and education to their team members in all departments, including casino operations, hotel, retail, security, surveillance or regulation.
Unfortunately, many gaming Tribes do not get the same financial success in their home waters due to geographical location, product offering limitations, population density, etc. This results in a small to no budget line for training and continuing education.
For this reason, BMM Testlabs developed the BMM Academy. We wanted to contribute to our Tribal partners to show our commitment to their success. We wanted to take a much different approach by making education and training accessible to everyone, without delivering a bill at the end of the class. Through the BMM Academy, we provide training and educational services that are customized to meet the needs of each regulatory body, without the need for gaming lab exclusivity. The curriculum provides a wide variety of subjects, including field audits, system audits, wireless security, remote access monitoring, forensics and incident response. Most importantly, we go to them so that more of the Tribes’ team members can participate and benefit from our training, all at no cost.
As an independent test lab, we ensure that games and systems are compliant with a jurisdiction’s relevant standards, as well as ensure that they are fair, reliable and robust. BMM sees new technology come through our labs globally, and we typically see that technology six months before it ever reaches a Tribe’s casino floor. That new technology comes with the critical need to provide insight to the regulator charged with the responsibility of ensuring integrity of the game, how it plays, how it pays, etc. With technology advancements developing at the speed of light, we offer regulators peace of mind. Especially for the Tribes who can’t afford to send their team members to the many paid training programs available in the industry. We present them with a customized, cost-free alternative.
Mobile, Sports Wagering, Skill Based Gaming, Class II and Cyber Security are just a few of the subjects of our most requested sessions. In order to reach a broader audience and as many Tribal regulators and operators as possible, BMM rolled out our Regulatory Road Trip symposiums several years ago. BMM’s Regulatory Road Trip model brings BMM’s knowledgeable team members and fellow gaming experts on the road, visiting different regions of Indian Country, delivering a two-day conference covering current and critical relevant subjects. Guests from regulatory, operations and Tribal government are encouraged to attend at no cost. This past summer, we called upon some of our fellow gaming partners and industry professionals, such as US Bookmaking on the subject of Sports Betting, Synergy Blue to present on Skill Based Gaming, and American iGaming Solutions, whose focus was on Mobile and Interactive Gaming, with each of them providing their time and expertise by joining us for our Regulatory Summit to the states of Kansas and North Dakota.
The veins of giving run deep in BMM.
Jodi DiLascio is currently the Director of Tribal Gaming for BMM Testlabs and Board Member of NIGA and AISES. In her spare time, Jodi advocates for Native STEM advancement and is an active member of Catalina Channel Swimming Federation. As a swim official, she takes marathon swimmers across the Catalina Channel.
