Internet Gambling Worries Native American Tribes
While the internet gambling industry celebrates the recent Department of Justice ruling that opens the door for internet gambling in the United States tribal gaming companies are concerned that internet gambling could cost their casino operations big bucks. Native American tribes have made billions from legalized gambling in several states and stand the most to lose if a significant numbers of gamblers migrate to internet gaming sites like online bingo. Some gaming experts agree that the tribe’s gaming operations would be hurt by internet gambling and said so as they testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
The gaming experts also told congressmen that they should consider some sort of protection for tribes that lose revenue. Some even suggested that the tribe should be compensated for the lost revenues they depend on to provide services on their reservations. Indian gaming has lifted several tribes out of abject poverty and has improved the standard of living on several reservations. The discussion in front of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee pointed out the emerging issue as federal and state lawmakers consider the legalization of internet gambling. In 2009 figures revealed that tribal gaming brought in $26.48 billion from land based casinos and bingo halls.
Several tribes have entered into special state compacts that allow tribes to operate and also limits gambling to reservation boundaries. The concept seems old fashioned since internet gambling will be available outside of reservation boundaries. Gambling law expert I. Nelson Rose, of Whittier Law School, told senators “In much less than one decade we are going to see Internet gambling legalized by all the states. Unless Congress figures out a way to protect particularly those in small states, I think a lot of the tribes are going to be out of luck.” Rose also told senators that fitting tribes into the internet gambling puzzle will be a complex issue in the near future. Rose stated “The gambling issues are extremely complex, the Internet is complex and you have Indian law, there are different laws from state to state and you can have different laws with tribes from inside the state. And we really didn’t get into international law.”
There are different laws from state to state and you can have different laws with tribes from inside the state. And we really didn’t get into international law.” Said that tribal gambling issues are just one reason lawmakers must pass legislation putting the federal government in charge of internet gambling. Washburn told senators “An entity at the federal level would be keenly focused on protecting the importance of Indian gaming to Indian tribes. Internet gaming poses some risk to that very strong revenue source, and if that revenue source goes away that is going to be a federal responsibility to meet those needs.”
Currently Native American tribes are granted a form of geographic exclusivity through compacts with the states in which they are located. Robert Odawi Porter, president of the Seneca Nation of Indians in western New York said that status would be affected by internet gambling. Odawi stated “We’ve invested nearly a billion dollars tied to our geographic area. That is what we have negotiated for. Opening up Internet gaming beyond those geographic borders and allowing… the New York lottery to prey upon and seize business opportunities from patrons in our exclusivity zone is our greatest threat. We cannot stand for the disruption of these compacts either in New York or anywhere in Indian country.” The debate is bound to continue as states add internet gambling services for residents.
