Elite Casino commits $500k to Iowa-aligned The Swarm Collective

The Midwest regional gaming operator Elite Casino Resorts announced a $500,000 commitment to the Iowa-aligned NIL collective The Swarm Collective on Thursday. A press release said Elite Casino Resorts will be the “exclusive casino gaming partner” and the first corporate partner to make a $500,000 pledge.

Many state laws or institutional NIL policies prohibit specific NIL activities tied to gaming or gambling industries. To this point, has been little crossover between the two industries in the first 19 months of the NCAA’s NIL era.

Early in the NCAA’s NIL era, some compliance officers and administrators had questions about whether their athletes could partner with Barstool Sports since Penn National Gaming acquired an ownership stake in the company.

Iowa doesn’t have a state law regarding NIL, which means college athletes in the state only have to follow the NCAA’s interim policy.

The press release from The Swarm Collective said Elite Casino Resorts’ $500,000 pledge is “part of Elite’s Giving Back Program that makes charitable contributions to local nonprofits, fire departments and law enforcement agencies.”

The Swarm Collective is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Each of Elite Casino Resorts’ properties will host charitable events featuring Iowa student-athletes, according to the press release.

The press release included a picture of Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery, women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder, Rhythm City Casino Resort Regional Vice President and General Manager Mo Hyder and Riverside Casino & Golf Resort General Manager Damon John posing on the court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Swarm Collective’s CEO Brad Heinrichs recently tweeted, “We have raised more money than most of the Big Ten so far.” The collective’s total will soon increase by a half-million dollars.

The Swarm Collective clashes with Iowa’s administration

A pair of high-profile football transfers from Michigan, quarterback Cade McNamara and tight end Erick All, each recently promoted The Swarm Collective after they committed to Iowa.

And despite support from some of Iowa’s prominent head coaches – McCaffery, Bluder and football coach Kirk Ferentz attended The Swarm Collective’s introductory press conference – Heinrichs and The Swarm Collective have publicly clashed with Iowa’s athletic department as the former has asked for more promotion from the latter.

The latest NIL guidance that the NCAA released in October allows coaches and administrators to ask for donations to their affiliated collectives. However, some athletic directors have been slow to embrace the guidance.

In December, Heinrichs tweeted in December, “Hmmm… both tOSU and Michigan’s ADs supporting their NIL programs… Santa, I hope you got my list…”

Heinrichs also said, in part, in another tweet, “Iowa up to this point has done nothing to help us. Zero.”

Iowa then released a two-page letter from Director of Athletics Gary Barta, which clarified the university’s position and included potential Title IX concerns about its involvement with collectives.

As collectives seek new sources of funds, especially those that don’t cannibalize the fundraising efforts of their affiliated athletic department, a gaming operator is a new and perhaps unlikely source.