Off-Reservation Gaming Off the Table?

Thread: Off-Reservation Gaming in the News

Reps. Pombo and Hastert gave up on limiting off-reservation gaming in the 109th Congress. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the only member of Congress who is an enrolled member of a tribe, commented: ''I am very pleased that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Amendment Act, proposed by Chairman Pombo and the Resources Committee, seems to be effectively dead for the 109th Congress. While this bill had good intentions, I was very concerned that if enacted it would violate tribal sovereignty and erode the rights of Native American tribes granted to them in the Constitution of the United States."

The quiet demise of Rep. Pombo’s and Senator McCain’s attempts to curtail off-reservation gaming belies the enormity of the controversy over what they were trying to do, and how it would impact the Indian gaming industry. Pombo's bill may have been pronounced dead, but it was hardly DOA, and it is likely to be resurrected.

We predict that we'll continue to hear more about efforts to amend IGRA and reform Indian gaming law, including the issue of off-reservation gaming, in the coming year.