Indian Gaming > Editorial: Bill brings needed reform to gaming

March 13, 2006

Editorial: Bill brings needed reform to gaming

"Public alarm over the possibility of a huge Indian casino project plunked down practically next to Denver could be permanently calmed if a bill just introduced in Congress makes its way into law. That would be a relief to most Coloradans, who have repeatedly made clear that they don't want gambling to be expanded.

Chairman Richard Pombo of the House Resources Committee, who introduced H.R. 4893 last week, says it will close a loophole in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that allows tribes to acquire land off their reservations, typically close to population centers, for the purpose of putting a casino there.

Just such a plan, called the Homecoming Project, was floated in 2004 on behalf of the Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribes of Oklahoma, dangling the carrot of settlement of old Indian land claims to 27 million acres in the state. Gov. Bill Owens refused to enter negotiations on the proposal, observing, 'Colorado citizens have overwhelmingly rejected the expansion of gaming on seven consecutive ballot measures.'"

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Editorial: Much-needed reform for Indian gaming (The Denver Rocky Mountain News 3/13)
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