Paycheck Protection Program Eligibility Expanded

Today, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published an interim final rule including a change to their guidance regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that would make most tribal gaming operations eligible for the program.

The PPP is a loan program within the CARES Act that allows businesses with fewer than 500 employees to apply for loans to cover payroll and other operational expenses that have been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This loan is forgivable if the awardee ensures that the funds were used for their intended purposes over the covered period.

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The original guidance suggested that most tribal gaming operations would be ineligible to participate in the program if these businesses derived over 50% of their revenues from gaming. Tribes and states with legal gaming enterprises worked hard to oppose this limited and arbitrary criteria for inclusion within the program.

The new interim final rule removes the criteria and states that “a business that is otherwise eligible for a PPP Loan is not rendered ineligible due to its receipt of legal gaming revenues, and 13 CFR 120.110(g) is inapplicable to PPP loans.”

Paycheck Protection Program Tribal Strategy

Seek a financial services provider that is local or seek out a nationally-chartered bank like Native American Bank.
Seek loans through Native owned banks and CDFI’s that are providing SBA 7(a) loans: Native Owned Banks

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