Native American Tribes Mixed on Internet Gambling

While momentum continues to build for the regulation of online poker in the United States, at least one influential gambling group has raised concerns with the current state of legislative efforts. Native American tribes said last week that they wanted a share of the Internet gambling pie when such activities are legalized in the United States, if their tribes choose to engage in online casino or poker room operations.

The online gambling situation would be clouded due to the issue of sovereignty. Should online gambling of any kind be allowed in the United States, one of the major motivating factors would be the fact that the federal government could collect significant tax revenues from the companies operating the gambling sites. However, Native American tribes would like to be able to collect their own taxes and institute their own licensing procedures, rather than cede that authority to the United States government.

The concerns of Native Americans were on display during a hearing by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which met last week. While there was no Senate legislation in particular to discuss at the hearing, tribal leaders did make their opposition to online poker bills currently working their way through the House of Representatives clear.

For instance, the bill sponsored by Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) would allow states and tribes to opt out of the internet poker program if they wished to do so. However, the bill would allow the Department of Commerce to regulate online poker, while Native American tribes want to keep control of any potential Indian online gambling sites with the National Indian Gaming Commission.

As in other sectors of the gambling industry, Native American tribes that currently operate brick-and-mortar casinos have had mixed reactions to the potential for offering online gambling to Americans. While online poker or casino games would certainly be a new income stream, some fear that they will compete against existing Native American casinos throughout the United States. Currently, 28 different states feature Indian casinos, with the Associated Press reporting a total of 422 facilities operated by 236 different tribes.