Off-Reservation Gaming Defined

Thread: Off-Reservation Gaming

What is “off-reservation” gaming? The term, which gets a lot of play in the media and public debate, refers to a tribe’s efforts to open a casino on Indian lands that are not part of, or adjacent to, the tribe’s reservation.

How can a tribe open a casino on land that is not part of its reservation?

Only through a very difficult-to-meet exception set out in the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

From the public debate over off-reservation gaming, you might think that a tribe could open a casino on any street corner in your hometown. Not so. In fact, not even close to being so.

Next time in this thread, we’ll begin a step-by-step explanation of the “real deal” on the law of off-reservation gaming.