The Legalities of Indian Gaming

California’s new Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has made it clear through his recent television campaign as to how he plans to deal with the state's deficit; a deficit that is larger than all of the other states’ deficits combined. He intends to impose a tax on Indian Reservations that engage in the lucrative business of running Casinos. As Mr. Schwarzenegger has argued and stated on TV, Indian nations should be made to “pay their fair share.” After the recall, in which Indian groups were attacked by Schwarzenegger for contributing casino generated money to Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamente, Schwarzenegger made taxing Indian Casinos a focal point of his deficit reduction plan. Might this be a personal vendetta? Hopefully not, but now, regardless of his pledge not to raise taxes, and the inherent constitutional issues that are raised by such a plan; struggling Indian nations that need the revenue for infrastructure will be giving much of it up for a Governor who at least publicly believes it to be their duty, and that it is only fair. His justification, and any for that matter, is sketchy at best. Though the Rese

The fact that California’s governor intends to deal with the deficit that plagues our state by taxing Indian nation’s borders on appalling. The reason being that a piece of legislation enacted that in essence disallows the kind of Indian gaming that is lucrative without state approval, does not give state’s the authority to place a tariff on the tribes. If a state condones gambling on a reservation that is by all other means federally restricted and regulated, and then allows it at a price - it is simply a poor excuse to have the Indian Nations pick up the tab on a deficit that is by no means their problem. Unfortunately, however, they’re getting away with it, as Indian Nations eager to reap the financial benefits of such a lucrative business as that associated with class 3 gaming are signing away large portions of their profits.

The precedent reached in California v. Cabazon band of Mission Indians made it such that tribal nations were free to run their operations as well as expand them in any state where gambling was not flatly prohibited. States could not regulate or tax any of the Indian’s gambling operations as their status as “sovereign domestic nations” was affirmed by the Supreme Court. Not pleased with the fact that their ability to levy their civil jurisdiction had been relinquished by the holding, many states including California appealed to Congress to create legislation that would limit the power of the Cabazon decision.

In order for a tribe to carry out class three gaming there are three requirements that they must fulfill. First it must “adopt an ordinance” which must be approved by the federal government. Second, the reservation must be situated “in a state that permits such gaming for any purpose by any person, organization, or entity” (25 U.S.C.A. section 2710 (d)(1)(c)). Lastly, the tribe must engage in a “Tribal-State compact” with the state in which the reservation is situated. The compacts regulate the conduct of the gaming activity. It is a legal agreement between the two that specifies the kinds of games that will be played, the size of the facility, the betting limits, the security and a few other regulations.

After the states lobbied continuously for quite some time, Congress took the matter into their own hands and the IGRA was enacted in 1988. The act was created to provide a statutory basis for the regulation of Indian gaming. It was an ill fated attempt by Congress to compromise between the states’ demands to be able to exercise their civil jurisdiction, and the tribes’ contentions that their status as sovereign nations gave them exclusive jurisdiction over their affairs. The IGRA created three classes of Indian gaming, each with its own regulatory scheme. Class one gaming is defined primarily as “social games solely for prizes of minimal value or traditional forms of Indian gaming engaged in by individuals

Some topics in this essay:
Connecticut Public, Supreme Court, Gaming Commission, Native Americans, Mission Indians, Tribe Connecticut, United Government, Indian Casinos, Indian Nations, Arnold Schwarzenegger, indian gaming, indian nations, class gaming, indian reservations, conduct gaming, lucrative business, taxing indian, mission indians, tribal nations, federal government, band mission indians, 25 usca section, mashantucket pequot tribe, class gaming defined, pequot tribe connecticut,