Here's the Oct. 20 presentation for AIS 230. Knowing that each team will present definitions for each topic, this will add more examples of how politics/policy and regulatory/legal issues are affecting tribes and casinos.

2. WHY WE ARE STUDYING THIS:
Business and cultural interests are
tied to legal directives
(which influence gaming business decisions)
and embedded in branding strategies
(which use cultural imagery to draw and sustain business)

3. TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Policy and Political Issues:
State intervention
Federal intervention
Issues of sovereignty
Guidelines regarding use of revenues
Mandates about gambling
BREAK
Regulatory, legal issues:
Licensing
Compacts
Rights of tribes against states (and vice versa)
Taxation and accounting (including per capita payments)

4. EXAMPLE OF STATE INTERVENTION:
CURRENT SUPREME COURT CASE OF
MICHIGAN V. BAY MILLS INDIAN COMMUNITY
• Bay Mills: Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement
Act allows gaming on lands acquired with settlement
funds
• State of Michigan: Change sovereign immunity and
state authority for gaming activity under IGRA.

5. EXAMPLE OF FEDERAL INTERVENTION:
CURRENT SUPREME COURT CASE OF
MICHIGAN V. BAY MILLS INDIAN COMMUNITY
Supreme Court is asked to review IGRA to find
Congressional intent to waive tribal sovereign
immunity
OR
Overrule Santa Clara Pueblo for less strict standard
if legislation such as IGRA abrogates tribal
sovereign immunity.

6. ISSUES OF SOVEREIGNTY
THE TERM “SOVEREIGN” MEANS “INDEPENDENT OF ALL OTHERS”
Rights and responsibilities include:
• The power to determine the form of government
• The power to define conditions for membership in the nation
• The power to administer justice and enforce laws
• The power to tax
• The power to regulate domestic relations of its members
• The power to regulate property tax
Example in Washington State:
After an unannounced FBI raid, the U.S. Department of Justice agrees to notify the
Yakama Nation’s tribal police before executing search and arrest warrants.

7. GUIDELINES REGARDING REVENUE USE
UNDER IGRA, NET REVENUES FROM TRIBAL GAMING MUST BE USED TO:
Fund tribal government programs or operations;
Promote tribal economic development;
Provide for the general welfare of the tribe and its members;
Donate to charitable organizations; and,
Help fund operations of local government agencies.
Examples:
Florida Seminoles, California’s United Auburn Indian Tribe,
Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community, Prairie Band of Potawtaomi in Kansas

8. MANDATES ABOUT GAMBLING
• Required by states as a public service message
• Issues of ethics, responsible gaming, and addiction
EXAMPLES:
Seneca Nation casinos link to New York state treatment options for gambling
addiction,
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians provides warning signs of gambling addiction
and resources for help.

9. LICENSING: SO GAMBLING IS LEGAL, HONEST
Example: State of Washington
The Washington State Gambling Act (RCW 9.46) gives the public
an opportunity to engage in limited charitable and social gambling
without fear of organized crime infiltration or the potential for fraud
by professional gamblers.”
Check it out: STAY CONNECTED via Twitter, YouTube,
set up an online account, etc.

10. COMPACTS:
NEGOTIATED BUSINESS AGREEMENT UNDER IGRA
Compare Illinois’( 230ILCS35/) Native American Gaming Compact Act
a) Governor can’t enter into a compact without requesting authority to General
Assembly.
b) Assembly must enact legislation authorizing the compact within 30 session days after
Governor’s request
Example: Ratified Tribal-State Gaming Compacts in Cali
INTERESTING: Model Tribal Gaming Compact in
Oklahoma
SEMINOLE TRIBE IN FLORIDA
A draft of the Florida Gaming Study indicates how a Class III gaming compact with
the Seminole Tribe offers benefits to the state.

11. RIGHTS OF TRIBES AGAINST STATES
(AND VICE VERSA)
Usually to defend tribal sovereignty:
Native American Tribes launch legal action against State of New York about banking
relationships
ACLU joins tribes in suit against State of South Dakota about failures to provide
tribal families with due process when removing children from homes
The Choctaw Nation and Chickasaw Nation sues State of Oklahoma about water
rights
Example in WASHINGTON:
Skokomish Tribe sues state over hunting rights

12. TAXATION AND ACCOUNTING
(INCLUDING PER CAPITA PAYMENTS)
From Forbes: Native American Casino and Tax Rules That May Surprise You
Worth knowing: Per Capita payments have ALWAYS been subject to federal taxes.
Academic article: Casino Taxation in the United States (may be outdated)
PER CAPITA is ADJUSTED: Eastern Cherokee Harrah’s
EXAMPLE: Mashantucket Pequot Tribe v. Town of Ledyard
(Town assesses state property tax on slot machines owned by non-Indians and leased to casino on rez) Suit is backed by Florida
Seminoles, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla and Coquille in Oregon, and others,

13. REMINDER: REVISIT CULTURE PAPER
TRIBE VS. TRIBE
EXAMPLES
Wisconsin, Non-Tribally Managed:
•
Oneida Nation supports Menominee
tribe; needs support of all other 10 tribes
for Hard Rock
MASSACHUSETTS
•
Mohegan Sun Palmer proposed; will
pay town of Palmer $15.2 M per year
plus revenue share and $2.9M one-time
payment

15. PAPER FORMAT: 3 points
Format (cover page, background, findings,
conclusion)
APA citation of all research
Minimum of three pages not counting
cover page and references
12’ Times New Roman double spaced
Page numbers in lower right corner
PAPER CONTENT: 4 points
Depth of analysis
Organization and clarity of writing
Strength of argument, critical thinking,
recommendations