Regulation of Indian gaming will be discussed at California State Assembly hearing today on six new Class III gaming compacts.

Tribes say their casinos are well-regulated, citing tribal, state and federal oversight. But the expansion envisioned by the compacts has some lawmakers worried because a federal court decision has cut the National Indian Gaming Commission out of the Class III picture.

Under the court decision, NIGC lacks authority over Class III games, which are at issue in the compact. It's up to tribes and states to regulate those games, the court said.

“We've lost one of those legs,” Assemblyman Alberto Torrico said, Copley News Service reported. “The federal government is now out of the game of regulating slot machines of any tribe in America.”

NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen will testify at the hearing. He has called on Congress to restore the agency's authority but a bill to do that never advanced last year.

Get the Story:
Oversight problems hindering compacts (Copley News Service 5/14)