Mashantuckets' latest venture: Wondr Nation, an online gaming company
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Mashantucket — In a bid to expand its digital footprint, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino, has launched Wondr Nation, on online gaming entertainment company.
A rebrand of Mashantucket Pequot Interactive, which the tribe formed last year in connection with the legalization of online casino gaming and sports betting in Connecticut, the new venture aims to generate revenue through partnerships with other tribes and gaming entities.
It also plans to partner with colleges to attract a new generation of potential “team members” through educational programs, internships and employment opportunities, according to Anika Howard, Wondr Nation’s president and chief executive officer, who has been vice president of brand marketing and digital at Foxwoods.
Wondr Nation is now the official holder of the online gaming license the state awarded the tribe last year, Howard said.
Its purview includes FoxwoodsOnline, a social casino app that offers not-for-money wagering on casino games, as well as the tribe’s partnership with DraftKings, which developed and manages Foxwoods’ real-money online gambling and sports-betting operations.
FoxwoodsOnline enables customers to earn points that can be redeemed for prizes and rewards, such as dinners and shows at the casino.
Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket chairman, noted the tribe and DraftKings plan to introduce a retail sportsbook inside the Foxwoods El San Juan Casino in Puerto Rico as well as an online sportsbook once the Puerto Rican government grants the necessary regulatory approvals.
Howard said Wondr Nation will seek to help customers in new markets tailor the available online gaming platforms to their needs and provide new gaming content.
“We want to be creative in the way we connect with people,” she said. “Coming out of COVID, it’s a signature moment for online gaming. We feel like the tribe is in a unique position to be leaders in the space, to take the work we’re doing and share it.”
Asked to identify an entity that does what Wondr Nation is seeking to do, Howard offered as a model Rush Street Interactive, the Chicago-based operator of the Connecticut Lottery Corp.’s sports-betting system.
“There really is no comparison, though,” Butler said. “Wondr Nation is unique. No one else in the market is doing exactly what we’re doing.”
