Watto was proud of his business and distrusting of Republic credits, which he felt weren’t «real» enough for the tough economy of an Outer Rim Territory planet like Tatooine. When Qui-Gon Jinn attempted a mind trick on him in order to get him to accept 20,000 credits in exchange for a T-14 hyperdrive generator, he shrugged it off, telling Jinn that as a Toydarian, mind tricks didn’t work on him. Watto was a heavy gambler, and later lost the hyperdrive and Anakin in a bet he had wagered against the Jedi.[2] After Anakin’s departure, he started to suffer heavy losses on gambling.[8]
Watto’s underestimation of Anakin proved to be a heavy blow to his business. Once Anakin left Tatooine and after he sold Shmi to the Lars family, Watto found himself with no help and was forced to do the hard job himself so his business could survive. Ill-used to the huge capabilities of his former slave, Watto wasn’t able to find anymore servants with the sufficient technical knowledge.