{"id":571627,"date":"2026-06-01T12:11:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=571627"},"modified":"2026-06-01T12:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:11:22","slug":"press-release-billy-kirkland-joins-national-indian-gaming-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/06\/01\/press-release-billy-kirkland-joins-national-indian-gaming-commission\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release: Billy Kirkland joins National Indian Gaming Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">NIGC Welcomes William \u201cBilly\u201d Kirkland to the Commission<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Monday, June 1, 2026<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<em>The following is the text of a June 1, 2026, news release from the <a href=https:\/\/www.nigc.gov\/>National Indian Gaming Commission<\/a>.\r\n<\/em>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. &#8212; The National Indian Gaming Commission welcomes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bia.gov\/person\/william-billy-kirkland\">William \u201cBilly\u201d Kirkland<\/a> as the newest NIGC associate commissioner, appointed to a three-year term on Friday, May 29, 2026. Additionally, he continues to serve as the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior.<P><\/P>\r\nKirkland brings extensive experience in public service and federal policy to the commission. In his new role, he will support NIGC\u2019s mission to regulate and uphold the integrity of Indian gaming in partnership with tribal governments. An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, Kirkland, has provided strategic, results-driven support to Fortune 500 companies, political campaigns, and advocacy efforts across the country.<P><\/P>\r\n\u201cThe Trump administration supports tribal sovereignty and economic development. Gaming is an important contributor to the economic success of many tribes,\u201d said Kirkland. \u201cI look forward to working alongside my fellow commissioners and NIGC staff to support a strong regulatory framework that upholds the integrity and success of Indian gaming.\u201d<P><\/P>\r\nNIGC Associate Commissioner Sharon Avery welcomed the appointment. \u201cWe are pleased to have Mr. Kirkland join the commission,\u201d said Avery. \u201cHis background and commitment to public service will strengthen the agency\u2019s work and strengthen our ongoing support to tribal gaming regulators.\u201d<P><\/P>\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/link\/uscode\/25\/2701\">Indian Gaming Regulatory Act<\/a> established the National Indian Gaming Commission with three fulltime members, each serving three-year terms. The president appoints the commission chair with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the Secretary of the Interior appoints both associate members.<P><\/P>\r\n\r\n<HR>\r\n<EM>\r\n The National Indian Gaming Commission\u2019s mission is to support tribal self-sufficiency and the integrity of Indian gaming through effective regulation. Together with tribes and states, NIGC regulates more than 500 gaming establishments operated by nearly 250 tribes across 29 states. To learn more, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nigc.gov\/\">www.nigc.gov<\/a> and follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NIGCgov\/\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NIGCgov\">X (Twitter)<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/national-indian-gaming-commission\">LinkedIn<\/a>. <\/EM>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cGaming is an important contributor to the economic success of many tribes,\u201d said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":242177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[67,1,14,31],"tags":[117,5905,118,73,505,3765],"class_list":["post-571627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-gaming","category-national","category-politics","category-press-release","tag-bia","tag-billy-kirkland","tag-doi","tag-igra","tag-nigc","tag-sharon-avery","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/30\/IndianzComDefaultImage.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2oHN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571627"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":571636,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571627\/revisions\/571636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}