Indian Gaming > Interview: States can't tax tribal casinos

November 29, 2004

Interview: States can't tax tribal casinos

Dorreen Yellow Bird of The Grand Forks Herald interviews Kevin Washburn, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Law and former general counsel to the National Indian Gaming Commission, about current controversies involving Indian gaming.

Yellow Bird: The conflict between Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Indian tribes over gaming revenues is in the news. Give us some background on the basis for Indian gaming, the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Washburn: The act provides a formal regulatory structure for Indian gaming. It was designed to help Indian tribes specifically, to support economic development for Indian tribes, not for states.

But the act does recognize that states have legitimate interests related to gaming. For example, the act gives states a chance to address their regulatory interests. It was not meant to let states get revenue from Indian tribes. In fact, the act explicitly states that it is not giving states any authority to tax Indian gaming.

It is designed to facilitate economic development for tribes but also to let states have their legitimate regulatory, if not financial, interests addressed.

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