Aristocrat’s online real-money gaming division announced the launch of a new on-premise mobile solution for tribal gaming operators on Tuesday, marking the first time that an iGaming solution will be offered on a tribal gaming property nationwide.

Anaxi, the real money, iGaming division at Aristocrat, inked the deal with the Chickasaw Nation, one of the largest tribal groups in Oklahoma. The partnership comes several months after the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) approved a set of alternate technical standards for the Chickasaw Nation that are applicable to the tribe’s Class II mobile gaming operations.

The approvals enable WinStar to take advantage of the shift to mobile casino gaming through the new standards, according to Dan Boren, secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, which owns WinStar World Casino and Resort, a property billed as the largest casino in the world.

“We are constantly looking to improve the player experience across our properties,” Boren said in a statement. “There’s no denying that the mobile gaming trend is here to stay, so we’re thrilled to launch this first-ever mobile offering with our WinStar guests and look forward to expanding upon this partnership with Anaxi in the future.”

Introducing Mr. Money Bags to tribal customers

Aristocrat launched Anaxi last October in an effort to build one of the world’s largest online gambling brands. The rebrand of Anaxi came on the heels of Aristocrat’s agreement to acquire B2B online supplier Roxor Gaming. Anaxi later debuted its first regulated iGaming products at the end of the 2022 calendar year.

Under the partnership with Winstar, Anaxi will offer three online slot games to tribal customers in Oklahoma: Mr. Money Bags, Polar High Roller, and Hot Red Ruby. Mr. Money Bags contains a “triple metamorphic” feature for bonus play, which can trigger three opportunities for free spins for customers. Mr. Money Bags also offers four static jackpots, including a grand prize that awards customers credits of $100,000.

Polar High Roller, meanwhile, awards customers with multiple wheel spins where each spin’s prize is equal or greater than the previous one.

Mobile gaming in other states

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a statute enacted by Congress in 1988, Native American tribes are limited to offering gaming on tribal lands. The decades-old statute generally prohibits tribes from offering activities such as mobile sports betting and online casino wagering in an “off-reservation” capacity.

In August 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a historic gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe. The parties hailed the deal as a way of modernizing the gaming industry through the authorization of sports betting in Florida through a “hub and spoke” model.

Months later, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich invalidated the compact by deeming the contract between the state and the tribe as illegal. But in June, a federal appellate court reversed Friedrich’s decision, enabling the Seminoles to relaunch their Hard Rock Bet platform. The case is still pending at the state and federal levels.

Beyond the three games, Anaxi plans to make new content available in the relatively near future. The Chickasaw Nation owns 23 casino properties throughout Oklahoma.

“Our commitment to both guest and operator experience is at the heart of everything we do,” said Josh Morris, senior vice president of iGaming Product & Technology at Anaxi. “Groundbreaking partnerships of this kind are the driving force in continuing to move our industry forward, and we’re eager to see our Mobile on-premise solution now live, helping elevate the gaming experience offered by tribal gaming operators.”

Photo: Courtesy of Anaxi