Off-reservation casino not a problem -- yet

Thursday, July 28, 2005  

Indianz.Com Listening Lounge, Senate Indian Affairs Committee oversight hearing on Lands eligible for gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, July 27, 2005. Note: All files in MP3 format. Intro - 5:18 - 938k Vitter, Voinovich - 22:40 - 3.9MB Panel I - 35:00 - 6MB | Q&A - 20:17 - 3.5MB Panel II - 32:10 - 5.5MB | Q&A - 21:26 - 3.7MB • Witness List

Off-reservation gaming is not the problem critics make it out to be, a senior Bureau of Indian Affairs official said on Wednesday.

The BIA has approved just three off-reservation casinos since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, said George Skibine, the acting deputy assistant secretary for economic development at policy. In all cases, the local community and the state governor concurred with the decision.

But the BIA has approved casinos on land that was not part of a reservation under "exceptions" to IGRA. Skibine provided a list of these acquisitions to the committee, a copy of which can be found at https://www.indianz.com/docs/bia/section20bia.pdf.

Get the Story:
Indian gaming disputed (The Las Vegas Review Journal 7/28)