Quick Intro: History of Indian Casinos

Among blackjack dealers, the old joke goes: "Indian casinos are how native Americans get back at the white man for all the lies and broken treaties of the past." The joke ignores the fact that American Indians living on reservations are still at the bottom of virtually every economic category and that 31% of the country's Indians live in poverty, contrasted with 13% of all Americans. While it may be romantic to consider casinos repayment for the destruction of the lives and culture of native Americans, the fact remains that the unemployment rate among American Indians living on reservations was 45% according to latest figures available while some individual tribes have rates of unemployment as high as 80%. Even the majority of Indians who do have jobs earn less than $7,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Seminole Indians near Fort Lauderdale, Florida launched  Indian casinos almost accidentally back in 1979 when they erected a building intended to be used for high-stakes bingo. Since they planned to keep the place open six days a week, the sheriff wasted no time in closing them down for violating Florida law. The Indians sued Broward County, where the Indian reservation was located. They claimed that state law enforcement officers had no right to hassle them since Indian Tribes are protected by the federal government. A district court judge agreed.

By the early 1980s, on Indian reservations all over the nation, private casinos, bingo rooms and lotteries were popping up like prairie dogs. Once again, everyone played the lawsuit game and this time the United States Supreme Court weighed in saying federally-recognized tribes were considered sovereign entities and they could operate casinos without interference from state officials.

The final straw came when the extremely poor Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, near Indio, California opened bingo and poker halls in the mid 80s in an attempt to stay afloat. As always, law enforcement closed down the gambling halls, jailed Indians and seized cash and merchandise. The Indians sued in federal court and won, causing the Supreme Court to put its foot down and decide that Congress and the federal government would regulate Indian gaming and the states had no right to interfere at all. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) signed into law by President Reagan in 1988, any tribe that wants to "may conduct gaming activities within the limitations of a compact negotiated between the tribe and the state and approved by the U.S. Department of Interior."

For all the ground-breaking legislation and court battles, only 198 of the 558 Indian tribes in America have signed gaming compacts with their states. More than half (55.5%) of all Indian gaming revenue is being made by twenty Indian casinos in or close to major population centers. In fact, most tribes are still struggling with incredible poverty. Indian gaming revenue, reported at $16.7 billion in 2006, represents the only economic development that has worked for the Indian Nations. However, it is by no means a silver bullet or a permanent solution.

Those tribes that make any gaming profits are plowing them back into their reservations in an effort to build self-sufficiency and government infrastructure. Tribes are using the profits to fund social service programs, health care clinics, new roads, sewer and water systems, adequate housing; the sort of programs that state governments support with tax money.


Indian Gaming