The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, California. The facility reopened in December 2015 after the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians reached a $19.845 million settlement with the National Indian Gaming Commission for numerous violations of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Photo from Facebook
Tribes, management companies and other parties doing business in the Indian gaming industry are facing higher penalties for violating federal law. For the first time since 1988, the National Indian Gaming Commission has raised its civil penalty level. Each violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act now carries a fine of up to $49,497, up from a maximum of $25,000, according to a notice that was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. But that's just considered the "catch-up" adjustment, the notice states. Under the provisions of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, the penalty will rise every year in accordance with inflation, the White House Office of Management and Budget wrote in a February 24 memorandum that the NIGC is following. That means tribes, management companies and other parties could face even heftier penalties in future years. The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians in California, for example, agreed to a $19.845 million fine last year for numerous violations of IGRA, an amount that could have potentially been much larger had the NIGC adjusted its civil penalty level. In practice, though, the tribe is only required to pay $500,000 and won't be required to pay the full $19.845 million long as it meets the conditions of the December 2015 settlement that ended the 14-month closure of the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act is a Republican-drafted measure that became law as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Federal agencies are required to adjust their civil monetary penalties and must so do on a yearly basis instead of every four years. Federal Register Notice:
Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustment (July 6, 2016)
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