History of Indian Reservation Gambling?

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Answer 1

Indian gaming has mushroomed over the last three decades. Although there is agreement that it has grown dramatically, it is difficult to put an exact dollar figure on the size of Indian gaming. There are no publicly collected and released statistics figures, as there would be with a public corporation involved in gaming. Estimates of the gross revenues vary widely. A writer on gambling and economic development, Robert Goodman, quotes a $6 billion figure.1 A quick review of other articles yields estimates of $2.3 billion,2 $8 billion,3 and $2.6 billion.4 Not all these revenues are going to the tribes, however, as the management companies take a significant share. By some accounts 65 to 85 percent of the income goes to management companies.5 Again, the exact figure is not known and those figures are higher than the ones seen in recent newspaper stories about signed contracts.
The conflict between the states and Indian tribes arises because both are sovereign entities. As such, states are severely limited from taxing and exercising jurisdiction over activities on tribal land. When the interests of the Indian tribes and the states differ, this sets up a conflict. The history of tribal-state relations have been not always been free of conflict and tension.7 The states, in order to prevent the off-reservation effects of certain activities that occur on the reservation have sought to extend authority over reservations. The result has been substantial litigation between the states and tribes in an attempt to define the relationship between the two. The high stakes of gaming and the fact it is an area traditionally regulated by the state have intensified the conflicts.
Congress Supported the Spread of Indian Gaming.12 Congress was motivated by the conditions on reservations. By any standard they were grim.13 In 1989, the median family income on reservations was $13,489, while it was $34,213 in the remainder of the country. On reservations, 47.3 percent of families lived in poverty compared to the national average of 11.5 percent. The alcoholism rate among Indians was 663 percent higher than the national average, the suicide rate was 95 percent higherIndian Gaming Has Appeared to Lead to Greater Political Involvement by Tribal Members. New Mexico is another state where Indian gaming has become a major political issue. The then incumbent Governor would not sign compacts with the tribes. As a result, the gaming tribes mobilized and donated funds to his opponent, who eventually won the election. Native American turnout in the election was somewhat higher than in past elections. Native Americans have historically exhibited low levels of voter turnout even when compared to other ethnic minorities.


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