$stalker "States that have casino gambling are obligated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 to negotiate compacts in good faith with tribes. Failure to do so lands the request with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for a decision.

It also pointed up how crucial it is for communities to rally, to build the case -- as Shreveport-Bossier City business and civic boosters did -- that such a development could seriously damage the local economy.

Vitter has said that the eruption of '400 casinos in 30 states' (Indian gaming brought in $22.7 billion in 2005) was not what Congress had in mind when it passed the Indian Gaming act. That seems logical, but it won't be the last time well-intended legislation -- in this case to help tribes develop economic independence -- created unintended consequences.

A measure was defeated last year that would have prohibited the Jena Band and other tribes from establishing casinos off tribal land or land not contiguous to their reservations. Tribes also would have been required to compensate local communities for a new casino's impact on roads, water and sewer systems and other services, including law enforcement. Vitter's latest proposal will seek to give local and state government more opportunity to take part in the approval process for Indian casinos and would require an economic impact study in a 60-mile radius of the proposed site.

Meantime, the gaming act continues to allow an uneven playing field between federally protected, sovereign tribes and state governments who have increasingly turned to gambling as less painful ways to raise revenues."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Law governing Indian casinos needs to level the playing field (The Shreveport Times 2/9)