Tribal Casino News

Tribal Casino Directory

A tribal casino is a gambling business operated on an indian reservation or tribal land.

Because Indian nations have sovereignty, their relationship with states and the US Government is unique.

In 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that, as sovereign political entities, federally recognized Native American tribal entities could operate tribal casinos free of state regulation. Congress soon enacted the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which sets the terms for how Native American tribal entities are permitted to operate tribal casinos and bingo parlours. Generally, a tribal entity is permitted to operate gaming facilities if anyone in the state is permitted to.

Many tribal governments have seen substantial improvements in their ability to provide public services to their members, building schools, making infrastructural improvements, and shoring up the loss of native traditions with funds earned from tribal casino operations. Tribal gaming operations have not been without controversy, however.

A small number of tribes have been able to distribute large per-capita payments, generating considerable public attention and competing political factions within the tribes. Some observers allege that businessmen have frequently established joint ventures with tribes on terms that amount to just buying a tribe's name for their own business, terms which have left meager funding for Native Americans.

Some indian tribes operate tribal casinos primarily as a way to generate jobs in areas of high unemployment, while seeing only small monetary returns. In 2006, Congress introduced legislation to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.The legislation would limit the ability of newly recognized tribes to open casinos and would place tighter restrictions on where casinos can be opened. The legislation has faced mixed support from tribes.

Some tribes view it as an attack on their sovereignty whereas others view it as necessary to protect their own casino interests from those tribes that are outside the region. Further, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has faced increasing pressure to tighten up regulatory approval and oversight of casino approvals. In particular, the BIA has been instructed by Congress to implement new procedures after nearly 17 years of the existence of IGRA.

These procedures would allow local communities to have more say in the siting of casinos in their community and would make the process of casino approval more transparent than it is today. To many tribes, however, the proposed regulations would further encroach on tribal sovereignty.

The most recent Indian gaming statistics, provided by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), indicate that there are approximately 400 Indian gaming establishments in the United States. These casinos are operated by approximately 220 federally recognized tribes and offer Class I, Class II and Class III gaming opportunities. The revenues generated in these establishments is close to $20 billion a year.

Latest tribal casino news:

Wampanoag tribe's interest in casinos is in the hands of a corporation

The tribe's interest in casinos is in the hands of a corporation separate from the tribal government.

Under the administration of Donald Widdiss, Ms. Andrews-Maltais's predecessor, the Wampanoag Tribe signed a development agreement with the Seneca Nation, a tribe in New York that has developed two very successful casinos. During her campaign Ms. Andrews-Maltais criticized the way that agreement was negotiated and announced. She said the "hard funding" part of the Seneca agreement has been suspended, but the corporation is still working closely with the Seneca.