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Tribal gaming
$46.2B, a record, in fiscal 2025
Tribal gaming set another revenue record in fiscal 2025, up 5.3%. It runs on visits, so TV gets bought by drive-time market and measured at the door.
The map
29 states, 545 properties.
Tribal gaming operates under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and tribal-state compacts. The marketing question is local: which households sit inside your drive-time radius, and which of them are worth the most.
The read
What matters in this market.
A destination business needs local reach
Local broadcast news and sport, cable zones and addressable CTV by ZIP code let a property own its drive market without paying for national reach it can't use.
Most properties are regional
Only 8.6% of the 545 venues took more than $250M in fiscal 2025. Hundreds of regional casinos compete for the same weekend visit, and few buy TV with any rigor.
The wallet fight has moved online
James Siva, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, estimates prediction markets have taken about 5% of tribal revenue. Tribes led the push for California's sweepstakes ban. The competition for the same player now runs through media too.
Your database is the targeting
Player-club data matched to CTV households reaches lapsed and high-value players directly, and gives a clean read on who came back.
Media by objective
| Objective | Media | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Drive visits from the home market | Local broadcast, cable zones | Reach and frequency inside the drive-time radius |
| Win back lapsed players | Addressable CTV matched to the player database | Measured against a held-out control group |
| Launch an expansion or new property | Broadcast plus CTV, regional OOH (out-of-home) | Short, heavy flights around the opening |
| Tribal online sportsbook, where live | Statewide CTV, geo-fenced | Bought and measured like sports betting |
Why TV here
Built for this category.
Measured at the door
Matched-market tests by DMA read visit lift, new player-club sign-ups and rated play. You see what TV did to the property's numbers.
Compliance on the property's terms
Plans follow your compact, your gaming commission's advertising rules and responsible-gaming requirements. Creative is cleared before it's booked.
The media
What you can reach.
How it's bought
Four routes in. Two are yours.
Most US networks need a US-registered entity, US credit or a US agency of record (AOR) before they'll take an order. Element Media Direct is a US company and can be that AOR.
| Route | Timing | Read |
|---|---|---|
| The upfront | 12 to 18 months ahead | Big annual commitments. The wrong door for a market entrant. |
| Scatter | 2 to 13 weeks ahead | Your linear entry. Flexible, market-priced, includes local DMA buys. |
| Programmatic CTV | Days | Fastest way in. Geo-fencing built in. Minimums around $25K to $50K. |
| Managed service | Weeks | Direct with Hulu, Peacock, Amazon and YouTube. Minimums around $100K. |
What it costs
Directional CPMs.
CPM is cost per thousand impressions. These are typical 2026 ranges; your plan gets real quotes.
| Format | Typical CPM | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Live sport (NFL, NBA) | $9 to $40+ | The most expensive inventory in US TV, and the strongest betting adjacency |
| Broadcast primetime | $6.50 to $30+ | Mass reach and the trust that comes with it |
| Premium CTV | $6.50 to $30 | Geo-fenced, measured, brand-safe |
| Programmatic CTV | $4 to $23 | The workhorse of a compliant launch |
| National cable | $2 to $18 | Efficient frequency |
| AVOD (Tubi, Pluto, Roku) | $3 to $15 | Cheap incremental households |
| Local broadcast and cable | $1.50 to $10 | State-level and DMA-level reach at regional cost |
Live in 30 days
Signature to on air.
Map and plan
Legal map confirmed. Target states, audiences and budget set. A plan across linear DMAs and CTV. Creative brief agreed.
Produce
Script to finished spot for your property, with responsible-gaming messaging and any compact or commission requirements built in at production.
Clear and book
Network clearances secured. CTV built with state geo-fencing. Linear placements booked.
Launch and measure
CTV goes live and linear flights start. The measurement baseline is set on day one.
Measurement
TV you can hold to a number.
Weekly reporting on cost per new player-club sign-up and visit lift, by state, daypart and creative. If TV isn't paying back, you'll hear it from me first.
Geo-level incrementality
Matched-market tests across DMAs and states. The cleanest way to show TV caused the growth.
Impression-level CTV data
Every impression logged by household geography, feeding cost per new player-club sign-up and visit lift by state, daypart and creative.
Spike analysis
Minute-by-minute response in downloads, site traffic and branded search after each linear spot.
Marketing mix modeling (MMM)
TV's contribution read alongside every other channel, so budget follows evidence.
The US TV Playbook for Gaming OperatorsFree download
The US TV Playbook
All 7 categories mapped. Who can advertise where, how US TV is bought, what it costs, and how to measure it so finance signs off.
Contact
Tell me what you're trying to do in the US.
You'll talk to me directly. If TV isn't the right next dollar for you, I'll say so.