NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION MAKES ANNUAL EUROPEAN VISIT PROMOTING TRIBAL GOVERNMENT GAMING
Visits Novomatic Headquarters in Austria
As part of the travels leading up to the annual International Casino Exhibition (ICE) Gaming gathering in London, England, National Indian Gaming Association Chairman (NIGA) Ernest L. Stevens, Jr. and delegates visited the NOVOMATIC Group headquarters in Gumpoldskirchen, Austria. The NOVOMATIC Group is one of the biggest international producers and operators of gaming technologies and employs about 30,000 staff worldwide. Founded by entrepreneur
“It is an honor to welcome Ernest L. Stevens to Gumpoldskirchen and give him an insight into our production. The National Indian Gaming Association is one of the most important organizations in the USA and is an important partner for NOVOMATIC,” said Harald Neumann, Chairman of Board. Chairman Stevens explained Tribal Government Gaming and said, “Indian Gaming is bigger than mainstream gaming in the United States. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was a compromise between Congress and our Indian Tribes. Tribes believed it took was an intrusion on Tribal Sovereignty. We don’t celebrate it, but we respect it because it is the law. Native American communities have “gamed” since time immemorial and we have adapted that tradition into a modern day context.” Novomatic stressed the importance of developing long-term relationships and the need for a deeper and better understanding of Tribal Gaming and the humanitarian causes that are addressed in Indian Communities as a result. They also provided a tour of the North American Exhibit at the World Museum, which is funded by Novomatic and includes Native American Collections. Novomatic Founder, Professor Graf also joined the group for a brief lunch and exchange of gifts. He expressed his appreciation for NIGA’s visit and affirmed the company’s intentions to partner with Tribal Casinos in the North American market with its vast array of products, services and solutions for the gaming industry.
Chairman Stevens with Novomatic person at Headquarters in Austria
Professor Johann F. Graf in 1980, the Group has locations in more than 50 countries and exports high-tech electronic gaming equipment and solutions to more than 75 countries. The Group operates around 270,000 gaming terminals and video lottery terminals (VLTs) in its some 2,100 plus gaming operations as well as via rental concepts.
Commerce Department of the United States Embassy in London meets with the NCAIED and NIGA
The National Indian Gaming Association started off its ICE Conference with a visit to the United States Embassy in London. NCAIED Executive Board Member Derrick Watchman joined NIGA’s delegation in providing US Embassy personnel with a joint presentation on economic activity in Indian Country. Between the $32 billion in revenue generated by Indian Gaming, combined with revenues generated in other Reservation commerce such as oil and gas, healthcare, and manufacturing, Indian Country generates well over $1 billion in economic activity in the United States. Chairman Stevens and Mr. Watchman impressed upon U.S. embassy personnel that Indian Country is open for international businesses to join them in the next wave of Tribal economic success. Chairman Stevens and Mr. Watchman talked about the methods Embassy personnel could use to help spread the word of economic opportunities on Indian Reservations. The Department of Commerce representative directed NIGA and NCAIED to their “Buyer Delegation” program to drive overseas companies towards business opportunities on the Reservations. Participation in the program will provide a worldwide platform, wherever there is a
US Embassy, to let industries in those countries know about the economic opportunities in Indian Country. NIGA and NCAIED both resolved to partner with the Department of Commerce to provide more international exposure for doing business on Indian lands.
National Indian Gaming Association and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development representatives at the United States Embassy in London.
4 | INDIAN GAMING UPDATE - MID YEAR EDITION 2019
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