Indian Casinos Forced to Locate Near Tribe, Viable or Not
In order to clarify and justify its position denying many poverty-stricken Indian tribes casino rights due them, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has written a rule requiring Indian casinos be located within twenty-five miles of the reservation headquarters.
Several tribes had purchased land far from their established reservations, had the land declared into trust land under the Department of the Interior, and then found rthe Department unwilling to sanction a casino location at the spot.
The tribes often preferred the remote locations as being near traffic patterns and population centers, whereas reservation locations often were distant from prospective gamblers on dusty, seldom-used roads.
The BIA used the excuse that tribal members were unlikely to benefit from jobs at casinos many hours away from them, disregarding the positive effects casino revenue might have directly on a tribe and its members.
A tribe may open a casino away from its homelands if it can be demonstated that the tribe will benefit and there will be no detrimental effects on the community where the casino will be located.
The BIA seems determined to keep casinos in close proximity to reservations, even if it means much less income for some of the nation's most destitute citizens. There is an exception allowed to the 25-mile rule, but it requires either a significant number of tribal residents nearby or else at least two years of onsite tribal government facilities.
Hopefully, the BIA won't end up with the unintended consequence of drawing the best and most mobile workers to new casino areas and off reservations, as depopulating reservations has always been at odds with BIA policy, and the remaining tribal members would be even more hard put without the presence of the potential casino workers.
