Indian Reservations And Gambling Enterprises
For those who have looked at the history of gaming in the US, they will have noticed a marked presence of a number of Indian Reservations. How and why is there such a clamour for gaming facilities in the reservations?
While the reservations of yesteryear are no longer recognisable, the US government gave these reservations and tribes limited sovereignty some time ago, enabling them to operate outside of many state laws. The authorities introduced the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, an act which set down the basis of gambling operations in many Indian reservations. In effect, if anyone in the state were able to operate gambling facilities, then this same right would be available to the Indian tribes - free of state law.
As you might guess, this was the beginning of a massive new area of business, a way for the tribes to make substantial amounts of money for their people, jobs for life and a general increase in living standards for many. Unfortunately, as with any major business opportunity this there have been a number of scandals with many leading business people accused of signing one sided joint ventures with the Tribal Governments. In effect they have been able to “buy” the name of tribes, which then enables them to create substantial gaming businesses outside of state control and taxes.
In 2006 the US government introduced another Act to Congress - an amendment to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act - which has limited the ability of new tribes to open new gaming operations. While some have criticised the move, many of the leading tribal figures have welcomed the amendments and praised the protections that it offers to the genuine tribal governments.
This area of gambling has grown substantially over the last few years and allowed many tribal governments to pay out often substantial payments to their population - a move which has been welcomed by all.