Online payments provider Secure Trading has appointed California-based technology firm OTP as the exclusive reseller of its ST-1 payment and verification platform to tribal gaming operators. ST-1 is an end-to-end solution that integrates into an operator’s platform to manage the transaction process from player registration and deposit through to withdrawal, while also carrying out identification, geolocation and responsible gambling checks.
The partnership is designed to tap into the tribal gaming market, with Secure Trading noting that there are more than four hundred tribal casinos in the US, generating more than $28bn in annual gaming revenue.
Secure Trading says tribal gaming operators have been able to gather a huge database of potential customers, meaning that they are likely to play a key role in both the online gaming and online payments sectors, especially if California regulates internet poker.
It describes California as a key area for growth with a population of 38m and more than 200m domestic and 15m international visitors in 2013, making the size of the state’s potential iGaming market “jaw dropping.”
The solution also aims to protect tribal sovereignty by giving tribes full ownership of customer data, while allowing for wider engagement with players, enhancing brand loyalty and driving up player spend.
Secure Trading chief executive Kobus Paulsen said the partnership represented a major opportunity to cooperate closely with the Indian tribes.
“Having spent a long time being part of the regulatory process our announcement today will help us access new markets and enable tribal businesses across native North America to significantly increase revenues and extend reach by providing consumers with greater choice and a better experience,” Paulsen said.
California-based OTP is headed by CEO Rico Jeffrey Garcia, an enrolled member of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, who served as the tribe’s former managing director of global business development.
“iGaming allows for our casino operations to reach a global audience,” said Garcia. “And with that, the stories of our people will too. And, in the end, that is what I want more than anything else: For the indigenous people of this land to be able to communicate our stories to the world and reach more people.”
source : www.gamingintelligence.com
