With the opening of Foxwoods, the $1 billion reservation gambling industry enters a new era of sophistication. But the tribes also face stricter regulation, thanks to a crackdown by the recently formed National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). Over the past decade, makeshift bingo halls began popping up on reservations; some offered slot machines and other games, which violated state laws. Since Indian reservations are under federal authority, states could do little to stop the trend. On some reservations, corrupt casino managers pocketed profits meant for the tribe, and there was even evidence that the mob had tried to horn in. Attorney Tony Hope, 50, appointed by President Bush to be NIGC chairman, thinks the Mafia scare was overstated, but the need for regulation was clear: in 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which created the NIGC.
Finally up and running last October, the NIGC’s first act angered tribes in the West-and they’re still fighting back. The NIGC endorsed existing legislation that banned slot-type machines unless they were approved in a “compact” with the state. That same week, California lawmen had boldly raided gaming halls in the San Diego area and confiscated 230 slot-type video games. Since slots are the most popular form of gambling, tribes believe pressure for the raid came from Las Vegas and state lottery officials, threatened by the competition; some believe that Hope, son of Bob Hope, represents the gambling capital’s interests. (“When they attack me personally, I know I’m doing my job,” says Hope.) In California and New Mexico, tribes are petitioning or suing, the states “[The crackdown] is a perpetuation of racist stereotypes that Indians can’t take care of themselves,” says Sacramento lawyer Howard Dickstein, who represents three tribes.
While the gambling wars rage, other gaming halls welcome regulations. “If we had them back in the ’80s,” says Albuquerque’s “Bingo Bob” Boles, “we wouldn’t be facing these problems now.” Hope says more regulations will be approved in the months ahead. He wants regular inspection of the casinos, located in 24 states, and plans to review contracts between tribes and business associates.
Despite misgivings, gambling is on the reservation to stay. Seeing casinos as a way to reduce welfare rolls, Minnesota gave 11 tribes the go-ahead to open casinos; last year five of them alone netted $51 million. While many Indians deplore gambling, others believe it should have a chance. “It’s like any other freemarket enterprise,” says NIGC commissioner Jana McKeag, a Cherokee from Oklahoma. “With good managers and a solid tribal government, it will succeed.” Native Americans have a high stake in trying to ensure that payoff: at last count, the average unemployment rate on the nation’s reservations stood at 40 percent.
