Opinion: Tribal casinos aren't paying their 'fair share' of taxes

A toothless tiger, the National Indian Gaming Commission, is charged with regulating some 450 tribal casinos in 28 states with a staff of about 100 employees, a smaller staff than that of the Nevada’s gaming control agencies, which regulate far fewer casinos. And moreover, the Indian Gaming Commission reports to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which somehow managed to “lose” millions of dollars’ worth of Indian trust funds. Along with the IRS and the VA, the BIA is one of the most dysfunctional agencies in the vast federal bureaucracy.

So these are the folks who allegedly regulate Indian gaming although tribes sometimes claim their casinos regulate themselves. In other words, when it comes to tribal gaming, the fox is in the hen house.

But that’s not the worst of it. Indian casinos play by their own rules and don’t pay their fair share of federal, state and local taxes. This means Nevada casinos compete with tribal casinos with one hand tied behind their collective backs. Indian tribes claim to be “sovereign nations” when it’s convenient, but at the same time they look to the federal government for handouts despite the fact their casinos are raking in billions of dollars per year. According to the Indian Gaming Commission, 65 tribal casinos in California earned $7 billion last year, about one-fourth of total nationwide earnings. No wonder California Indian tribes are among the major sources of political contributions in our neighboring state.