Indian Gaming

Tribes are all over the place on Internet gaming, OpenSecrets reports, but so are gaming companies, racetracks, state governments and other interested parties:

Outside of the major casino interests, a diverse array of groups has tried to chime in on the subject: Indian tribes, gaming tech companies, banks, law enforcement and even Zynga, the company that makes Farmville and other games for Facebook.

One lobbyist representing several groups that oppose the ban said that many in the industry simply "want the issue to go away," maintaining that Adelson was solely responsible for the push. The rest of the industry, even those who might be disadvantaged by online gambling, is happy to have the issue decided at the state level, the lobbyist told OpenSecrets Blog.

Among Indian tribes, there's no broad consensus on the question, said Larry Rosenthal, a lobbyist with Ietan Consulting. Rosenthal represents the National Indian Gaming Association as well as 10 individual tribes -- including ones with major gaming operations like the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

"Everyone is all over the map," Rosenthal told OpenSecrets Blog. "You have some tribes who want online gaming, and some who want to protect their bricks-and-mortar operations. There is no monolithic position."

"Some of the more rural tribes are worried -- they're not going to compete on the level of Las Vegas, so some folks would probably support Adelson," Rosenthal said. Still, he noted, some tribes feel they have the resources to compete and have been meeting with technology companies to try and set up online gaming operations.

Given the huge range of resources and pre-existing operations, the only consensus position on any action by federal government is that it must not step on existing tribal rights, Rosenthal said.

"Many tribes are saying that if something is going to happen, they want to be protected -- they want to make sure Indian Country is protected," he said. "If there is legislation it should respect tribal sovereignty."

Get the Story:
Russ Choma: Don't Bet the House: Online Gaming Ban Faces Uncertain Future (OpenSecrets Blog 5/12)

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