NIGA 2018 Annual Report

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT ERNEST L. STEVENS, JR. Oneida Nation of Wisconsin

T he state of the Indian Gaming Industry is strong and we should all take great pride in the strides we have made together over the past forty years. Not only have we become the nationwide industry leader in growth year over year since the great recession, we now represent the largest segment of the overall gaming industry in the United States. According to Nathan Associates Casino City’s Indian Gaming Industry Report of 2017 Indian Tribal Government Gaming represents 44.3% of the gaming market—while commercial casinos represent 43.3% of the market and racino’s represent 12.4% of the national casino market. There can be no doubt that Tribal Government Gaming has made the most out of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which turns thirty years old on October 18th of this year. Although IGRA was a compromise, the significant benefits that Indian gaming revenues have provided to Native communities and tribal governments over these past thirty years is phenomenal. With that said, NIGA will continue to push for a Seminole fix to restore balance to the Tribal/State compacting process, to ensure that the economic benefits of Tribal Government Gaming go back to our Tribal communities to promote tribal economic development, tribal self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments. This is not rhetoric, and I consider my job not done until this task is complete. The White House Transition Plan/115th Congress NIGA has continued our outreach and education efforts with the new Administration, following up on the Transition Plan we submitted in January of 2017 and pursuit of our legislative and regulatory priorities. Through our Winter and Summer Legislative Summits, we’ve also continued to educate key Members of Congress and work with our champions to strengthen tribal sovereignty. We have also continued to strengthen alliances with the national and regional native organizations. Throughout the year, NIGA worked to ensure that the voice of our Member

4 INDIAN GAMING - ANNUAL REPORT 2018

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