Tribal Casinos May See Change from Bush Policies

The US government is considering dropping its requirement that tribal gambling and casinos be located within short distances from reservations.

While many gaming insiders may be thus far disappointed in the lack of changes made in executive policy by the Obama administration from its predecessor, tribal casinos could soon be the beneficiaries of adjusted regulations. According to the Wall Street Journal, the current Department of the Interior is considering dropping a Bush-era policy that tribal casinos be located only on or near reservations.

The Bush thinking was that the tribal gambling venues are supposed to provide jobs for poverty-stricken reservation Indians. But tribal leaders have long made the point that reservation life standards can be raised by revenue from gaming, even when it is not accompanied by new jobs.

"It's a controversial issue and they're rethinking it," George Skibine of the Bureau of Indian Affairs told the Journal.

Regional casinos could face increased competition if the policy is reversed. Many are lobbying Congress to insist the BIA maintain existing standards.

Tribal spokesmen have also asserted that, while the lands in question may not be reservation, they often include ancestral homes of tribes.

Over twenty tribes have prepared plans for off-reservation casinos, as soon as national gambling rules allow it. While gaming ventures are having trouble finding financing, and Indian projects present unique financing difficulties making the casinos an unusual risk, there are some tribes who have already acquired the credit needed to build new casinos.