| Indian Tribal Casinos |
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Certain classes of gambling have been legal on Indian reservations since 1988 and the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The reason is that the Indian reservations are considered sovereign nations. The tribes cannot just offer any kinds of games that they want. The Indian tribes have to receive permission and licensing to operate gambling facilities.
There are three different classification of licensing that they can have. Class I allows the tribe to offer social games for nominal value prizes. These kinds of social games are subject to the regulation of the tribe and don’t include the kinds of games that gamblers are interested in. Class II gaming includes games like bingo, lotto, pull tabs and punch cards and nothing electronic. These games must be legal in the state where the reservation is located. The games cannot be played against the house.
Class III gaming gives the tribe the right to operate a casino. In this class of games are card games played against the house, slot machines and table games. This is the kind of gaming that is regulated by the states. The tribal casino must be located on Indian lands. Revenues from Indian casinos have benefited the tribes. The gambling industry, in general, is worth billions of dollars a year and the tribal casinos bring in their share. Not only do tribal members benefit from casino revenues, so does the local community. Many tribes make contributions to the community with the money they receive from gambling. |
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