TAX EXEMPT STATEMENT
The National Indian GamingAssociation is a tax exempt corporation under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(6). Although ruled tax exempt, this does not make the National Indian Gaming Association a “charity” and thus contributions to the organization are not always deductible by the donor as a charitable contribution for federal Income Tax purposes. The National Indian Gaming Association was founded in 1985 and incorporated in the District of Columbia in 1993.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the National Indian Gaming Association is to protect and preserve the general welfare of the Tribes striving for self- sufficiency through gaming enterprises in Indian Country. To fulfill its mission, We work with the federal government and Congress to develop sound policies and practices and to provide technical assistance and advocacy on gaming related issues. In addition, We seeks to maintain and protect Indian sovereign governmental authority in Indian Country.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Chairman’s Report
4
Vice Chairman’s Report
8
Treasurer’s Report
10
Secretary’s Report
12
Executive Director’s Report
14
Board of Directors 2022
16
Staff Matrix 2022
17
Nationwide Impacts of Indian Gaming
19
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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT ERNEST L. STEVENS, JR. Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
O ver the past two years, our industry has shown Convention this April in California, we have much to celebrate and new challenges and opportunities to address as we continue our work to protect Tribal Sovereignty and strengthen Native communities. From day one of this pandemic, Tribal Leaders nationwide approached the health and safety emergency with full focus on protecting the health and safety of Native communities and our visitors. Tribal Leaders coordinated with public health officials, Indian gaming regulators and operators, and public safety officials to impose the highest standards industry-wide to stop the spread of the virus. The success of Indian gaming through the worst of this pandemic is also a credit to the creativity and flexibility of so many experts on the ground who adjusted and readjusted operations to protect the health and safety of our people while also maintaining the highest quality gaming experience. And finally, we applaud the tireless work of the hundreds of thousands of Indian gaming employees who implemented these directives to keeping their facilities and visitors safe. remarkable perseverance and resiliency. As we prepare to gather for the 2022 Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Thanks to your work, Indian gaming operations far surpassed early projections. We limited the pandemic’s economic impacts in 2020, generating $28 billion in revenue for Tribal Governments. While we await final numbers for 2021, early reports indicate that Indian gaming revenues will likely surpass the record levels of 2019. The Tribal Government gaming industry’s comeback is a resounding affirmation of the safety-first approach taken by Tribal leadership nationwide. We expect even greater industry gains in
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2022 with expansions, grand openings, and groundbreakings planning throughout Indian Country. From a federal policy perspective, in 2021, we continued to build on our work with Congress. In the past year, thanks to our outreach, Congress delivered historic levels of investments to Native Nations through the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, and the recently passed FY’23 (Omnibus) Funding bill. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) truly kickstarted the health and economic recovery for Indian Country. The Act provided $20 billion in Fiscal Recovery Funds directly to Tribal Governments. The Plan provided significant resources to the Indian health care system, Tribal housing, education, and other critical services. Possibly the most important provisions from the ARP were the Administration’s work with Tribal leaders to deliver vital vaccines directly to Indian Country’s health care providers. The Infrastructure Act is delivering an additional $13 billion to help Native Nations rebuild our roads, water systems, broadband, cybersecurity, and more. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the infrastructure shortfalls throughout Indian Country. Overcrowded homes, substandard health systems, and broken water systems all contributed to spreading the virus in Native communities. As schools closed, the lack of broadband made it impossible for many students to engage in remote learning. And finally, just last month, Congress enacted the annual spending bill that again increased funding for Tribal Government programs at the Indian Health Service, BIA, BIE, and other critical programs that deliver services to Native communities. One si gnificant policy provision included in the Omnibus was the long-awaited reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which builds on the 2013 VAWA Reauthorization – reaffirming Tribal jurisdiction over crimes committed by non-Indians against Native children, assaults on Tribal justice personnel, and a broader range of crimes against Native women. The strong bipartisan support for the VAWA Reauthorization will go far in addressing the tragic crisis of missing and murdered Native women. At the same time, 2021 brought challenges and opportunities that our industry will continue to face this year. As we slowly reopened to gather and grow our industry, we did so in the face of incoming COVID variants. While we can hope that new variants will be limited, Tribal leaders continue to work with health officials, regulators, and operators to prepare for every potential scenario. Additional challenges that have stemmed from the pandemic are concerns with recruiting and retaining key employees in certain regions. Indian gaming operators have historically offered some of the best paying jobs in their regions – often providing full health and related fringe benefits. However, the pandemic disrupted employment nationwide. Many employees who were forced to leave during the early months of this crisis have not returned or have found new careers. This challenge is not unique to
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Indian gaming or even the national gaming industry, but it is an issue that Tribes nationwide are working to address. One issue that pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic but has increased in recent years is the growing threat of cyber-attacks targeting weaknesses in our digital security. Tribal Governments are answering these threats by investing in cyber protection and establishing cyber defense teams to prevent attacks on our operations. Strong cybersecurity limits exposure and is crucial to maintaining the integrity of our operations. The biggest change to gaming in the United States over the past two years is the rocketing emergence of sports betting. Since the Supreme Court’s Murphy decision in 2017, our industry has viewed sports betting as both a challenge and an opportunity. Tribes nationwide are using existing authority under IGRA to participate in the growing sports betting market. Many more Tribal Governments are still working through the process as they consider entering the market. One setback that Indian Country faced in 2021 was the federal court decision that struck down a compact negotiated between a Tribe and state to conduct sports betting, acknowledging that the Tribe can accept bets throughout the state. Despite the fact that state law affirmed that the place of mobile wagers accepted by the Tribe will take place at the location of the hosting server, the court narrowly read the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to limit this activity. This is a misguided and narrow interpretation of IGRA that directly conflicts with congressional intent and growing practice in other states. As the Biden Administration rightly acknowledged in reviewing this compact, “other jurisdictions are deeming wagers to occur at a specified location. Multiple states have enacted laws that deem a bet to have occurred at the location of the servers, regardless of where the player is physically located in the state. The compact reflects this modem understanding of how to regulate online gaming.” Another legal challenge was filed by a commercial cardroom in the State of Washington, claiming that IGRA is unconstitutionally based on “race and ancestry.” While not grounded in law or fact, we take this challenge seriously because of what is at stake. For most of the past half-century, more than 200 Native Nations have utilized Indian gaming to generate governmental revenue to rebuild our communities. Legal challenges that attempt to blur the governmental status of Indian Tribes as “racially” based attack the very core of tribal sovereignty.
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Our Association has examined internet gaming and sports betting for two decades. We have built consensus positions backed by our mission to protect and preserve tribal sovereignty and IGRA. Tribal Governments must be able to access new technology to participate in the evolving gaming industry. The use of mobile gaming is part of this evolving industry. IGRA did not permit Indian Tribes to engage in gaming. Instead, IGRA acknowledged that Tribal Governments retain the inherent sovereign authority to engage in gaming, and IGRA simply codified this right. IGRA cannot be interpreted as an impediment to tribes that seek to modernize their gaming offerings. So, while we have so much to celebrate as we prepare to gather for Indian Gaming 2022, we have significant business to discuss with our Member Tribes and partners. The past two years highlighted our resilience and showed what is possible when Indian Country unites behind the common purpose of working together to build a better place for all generations to come. While it seems like this pandemic may be closer to being behind us, we must continue our resolve to do our part to defeat it. As a result, Indian Gaming 2022 will continue to follow stringent COVID-protection protocols outlined by the CDC and Orange County in California. This pandemic will be forever engrained in our stories. Like our ancestors before us, we will share the lessons learned with our future generations, so they are prepared to protect their communities. At the same time, we continue our work to strengthen our communities to guarantee that we are even more resilient to deal with future threats. As we successfully and safely did twice last year, we will bring our membership to the table to do the work necessary to continue to build our industry. We will honor those who led before as we gather for the Annual 2022 Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention on April 19-22, 2022, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. We have a dynamic event planned to include on Wednesday, April 20th, the Chairman’s Leadership Luncheon, where we will honor Chief Oren Lyons, a faith keeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation in New York, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Indian Gaming will also present the annual cultural event where we will present the Rick Hill Tim Wapato Sovereign Warrior Award to former Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians Chairman Anthony Pico. I hope we see you there. Finally, my continued prayers go out to those impacted by this pandemic. I pray for the families and communities for those who have walked on, for the continued safety of medical professionals, caregivers, and first responders, and for the health, welfare, and safety of their tribal communities.
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VICE-CHAIRMAN’S REPORT DAVID Z BEAN Puyallup Tribe of Indians
W elcome to Anaheim and thank you for taking the t ime to read my report . I t is an honor to serve as your Vice-Chai rman of the Indian Gaming Associat ion. This wi l l be our f i rst regular ly scheduled Tradeshow since the Covid-19 Pandemic began and i t has certainly been a tough road over the past two years. Dur ing this t imeframe the Associat ion exper ienced several chal lenges, both f iscal ly and administrat ive, as did al l Tr ibal Governments. We began last year wi th a new Congress and President whi le st i l l working through the pandemic and the vaccine rol l -out . As we proved throughout , Indian Country’s greatest strength remains our abi l i ty to adapt to any si tuat ion and safeguard our Tr ibal Ci t izens. Wi th new pol i t ical leadership in Washington D.C. , and new leadership at the Federal Agencies ( including Inter ior Secretary Deb Haaland of Laguna Pueblo), the Associat ion remained act ive on many pol icy fronts, both legislat ive and regulatory. From the outset of the pandemic in March 2019, the Associat ion worked in conjunct ion wi th other Tr ibal Organizat ions to secure over $30 bi l l ion in di rect Covid aid to Tr ibal Governments. This was the resul t of decades of Indian Country’s advocacy and work on Capi tol Hi l l , resul t ing in something previous generat ions of Indian f ighters dreamed of achieving, the respect in Congress and Federal Agencies for Sovereign Tr ibal Governments.
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The pandemic is obviously not over by any means, but Tr ibal Governments have never been in a stronger posi t ion to address the needs of thei r ci t izens. Our messaging over the years has resul ted in a bi -part isan understanding that Tr ibal Sovereignty means Tr ibal Governments have jur isdict ion over our lands and people wi thout except ion. In my home State of Washington, we did not always see eye to eye wi th the Governor ’s covid pol icies, but he respect ful ly worked wi th State and local agencies to implement condi t ions that sui ted both of our jur isdict ions. This type of scenar io played out across Indian Country, even in States where Tr ibal Governments implemented far str icter Covid measures than thei r respect ive Governors. The Ass ociat ion’s outreach dur ing the pandemic carr ied over to the new Biden Administrat ion where our col lect ive advocacy ensured Indian Country was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . Wi thin this infrastructure law is over $11 bi l l ion for Indian Country to improve thei r transportat ion systems, repai r water systems, expand broad band access, and promote Tr ibal economic sel f-suff iciency. Tr ibal Governments have a lot to coordinate as the Act is implemented, but we must remain uni ted behind our core key pr inciples: protect ion of tr ibal sovereignty and foster ing economic act ivi ty on the reservat ion. This in turn wi l l provide for the next seven generat ions of our Indian communi t ies. I want to thank our Member Tr ibes for your support over the past two years. We simply could not have achieved so much for Indian Country wi thout your support . I look forward to cont inuing my work wi th the Indian Gaming Board of Di rectors, Tr ibal and Associate Members, and al l of Indian Country in this pivotal elect ion year. My message as Vice- Chai rman is the same since my f i rst term: “Stay in mot ion…Forward Mot ion.” We must cont inue to work together to protect Indian Gaming and al l Tr ibal industr ies for the bet terment of our generat ions to come. “Together” Indian Country has proven we can confront any chal lenge, even something as big as a wor ldwide, once in a generat ion, pandemic. The bigger the chal lenge, the bigger the achievement , whi le always moving forward.
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TREASURER’S REPORT ANDY EBONA Douglas Village
I t is my honor and privilege to serve as your Treasurer for the National Indian Gaming Association. The Treasurer’s primary duty is to ensure the long-term fiscal health of the Association. The Association By-Laws specifically state that the Treasurer is responsible for the funds and security of all monies received by the Association. For 2021 fiscal year, we worked with Wisconsin based WIPFLi (formerly Joseph Eve LLC) to conduct the audit. WIPFLi conducted their audit of the National Indian Gaming Association’s 2021 financials during the week of March 21st, and I am pleased to report that we received a “non-qualified” opinion from the auditors. This is a strong comeback from the negative impacts the Covid-19 pandemic had on all of Indian Country’s budgets. Due to the postponement of the 2020 Tradeshow scheduled for San Diego, the Association faced enormous budgetary constraints heading into FY 2021. However, Association leadership responded and worked collaboratively to implement cost savings and budget cuts that ensured strong revenues for FY 2021. Working with the Board of Directors, Executive Director, and our dedicated staff, we aggressively addressed the Pandemic induced budget challenges by instituting operational cuts and trimming our budget. As you will read in this year’s 2021 Audit Report, the Association not only met these challenges but will be in a strong financial position for the remainder of FY 2022. Working through the pandemic was truly a cooperative effort and I would be remiss in not acknowledging our long-time sponsors and Tribal partners. Through their continued support during the worst of the pandemic, they helped us maintain operations on behalf of Tribal Governments and Indian Gaming. Just as important, the Association was able to avoid layoffs and retain our loyal staff who continued to keep the Association active through new forms of communication and lobbying.
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For their continuing support, I want to thank the following Tribes and companies for their generous donations: Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Poarch Creek Band of Indians IGT Aristocrat Gaming Our Associate members are an important component of serving our Tribal Members and we hope to see more donations from companies that are benefitting from Indian Gaming. This year we are reforming our Associate Member Program to make it easier for companies to join the Association and provide a platform for companies to share the work they are doing in Indian Country. As you take time to enjoy our Tradeshow and Conference in Anaheim this year, please be sure to review the Annual Report and the FY 2021 Audit results enclosed with this report. Collectively, we were able to return our operating capital in 2021 to over $1,000,000, a complete reversal from FY 2020. The successful July 2021 ‘make-up’ Tradeshow in Las Vegas, driven by Indian Gaming’s turnout and support, allowed the Association to raise unexpected revenue and return to solid fiscal footing for 2022. I pledge to continue our hard budget work at the Association, and will continue to coordinate with the Finance Committee, the Chairman, Executive Director, and our Membership, to protect the Association’s resources and ensure they are being used to meet Indian Country’s priorities. I am overwhelmed by the unity displayed by Indian Country during this pandemic. Because of our collective advocacy, the Federal Government provided unprecedented support to Tribal Governments and our reservation economies. As Treasurer, I want to build on this cooperation and respect for Tribal sovereignty as we work through the pandemic and prepare to take on new challenges and endeavors. As Treasurer, I owe it to our Tribal Membership to not only maintain the Association’s excellent credit rating, but to ensure the long-term fiscal health of the Association. It is an honor to have an elected role in an organization that is now of the most esteemed advocacy groups in Washington, D.C. I want to thank the Tlingit & Haida Indian community, especially the Douglas Village, for their support, in addition to all of Indian Country for helping the Association achieve its goals. I look forward to meeting with you in Anaheim and hearing your suggestions on how to continue to help all Tribal Nations pursue economic self-sufficiency, care for our people, and build a future for the generations to come. I wish you much success in 2022 and look forward to seeing you on the Tradeshow floor.
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SECRETARY’S REPORT PAULETTE JORDAN Coeur D’Alene
G reetings and welcome to all the Tribal Leaders attending our Tradeshow in Anaheim, California, this year. It is a privilege to serve you as the Executive Secretary of the National Indian Gaming Association. In 2021, the Association continued our work on behalf of Indian Country, working with a new Administration and Congress while preserving through the continuing pandemic. With new faces, there are new challenges, but our enduring commitment to Tribal Sovereignty remains steadfast. It has been heartbreaking as a mother and as a proud Tribal citizen of the Coeur D’Alene Tribe to have witnessed the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 virus. The pandemic only added to the obstacles faced by Tribal governments. We are all too familiar with the shortcomings in our tribal educational, health, and administrative agencies. Fortunately, through the hard work of the Indian Gaming Association and our sister organizations, the Federal Government provided aid to Tribal governments as co-equal sovereigns with State governments for the first time in this Country’s history. Of course, our gaming revenues continued to be a vital source of pandemic income and provided that invaluable lifeline to our communities. It is incredible that in 202, Tribal gaming revenues held steady, and with the influx of federal aid programs, Indian gaming has preserved many of the 700,000 direct jobs on the Reservations.
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The pandemic has also spurred new investment and commitment to renewable energy initiatives in Indian Country. Several tribal casinos in the Northwest are now tapping into geothermal heat to help power their operations, and new construction now incorporates plans for the use of renewable energy to power their casino operations. Clean energy technology and development is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S., and Indian Country is poised to be on the cutting edge of this technology given our locations, the diversity of our economies, and our cultural respect for mother earth. The National Indian Gaming Association will continue to provide leadership and discussion on exploring new ways that Tribal Governments can preserve resources and the environment by committing to bring self-sustaining economic development to our reservations. I have long believed that Tribes are connected to this land in a spiritual sense and have a responsibility to protect and maintain access to our natural environment. Indian Country is a shining example of striking that balance between maintaining a vibrant industry and keeping our environment healthy for the continued use and enjoyment of generations to come. Again , it is my utmost privilege to serve as the National Indian Gaming Association’s Executive Secretary, and I appreciate the opportunity to represent our Member Tribes in this capacity. Coming to Anaheim for the first time ever, and after two years of pandemic interruptions, I look forward to meeting with Tribal Leaders again and seeing what our great gaming industry has to offer. I am honored to serve in this position of responsibility due to the support of our Association members, without whom we would not have made it through the worst of the pandemic. Thank you again for this honor, and I hope to meet you on the Tradeshow Floor!
Hnqwi’yqwi’yilgwes khwe sk’u’lshesh. (In humble service to you all.)
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT JASON GILES Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Welcome to beautiful California! The National Indian Gaming Association visits Anaheim for the first time in our history after two pandemic interrupted shows. We are excited to be in Anaheim and look forward to our return in 2024. I want to thank Visit Anaheim and everyone at the Anaheim Convention Center for their constant attention and updates throughout the pandemic. Their outreach proved invaluable in our planning and bringing Indian Country to Anaheim. In our last full report from 2019, I wrote about the excitement and energy created on Capitol Hill as we completed our second full year in the refurbished and expanded Headquarters. Little did we know that a worldwide pandemic would soon bring D.C. to a standstill. The Association made adjustments, both financially and administratively, but our advocacy work remained strong. The overriding goal during the pandemic was to protect our number one asset, our dedicated staff working on Indian Country’s behalf in Washington, D.C. Working with the Finance Committee and Treasurer, the Association embarked on aggressive cost-saving measures over the last two years. Due to these cost-saving measures and a successful off-cycle July Tradeshow last year, the National Indian Gaming Association and its staff are off to what should be a great 2022. We also hope to finish the last part of our Headquarters expansion, a state-of-the-art “Tribal Leaders’ Lounge” in the downstairs part of the Association’s building. The Lounge will be available for all of Indian Country to come and relax between meetings on Capitol Hill or bring visitors to a little slice of Indian Country in Washington, D.C. As we begin 2022, there is a lot of legislative and regulatory work ahead regarding Tribal tax laws, gaming regulation, and protecting our Tribal Governments from a new wave of overbearing State demands on tribal gaming. I am proud to serve Indian Gaming in a role that helps to bring
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Indian Country’s voice to policy positions formulated in cooperation with all of our incredible Tribal organizations. Working with my peers in D.C. at NCAI, NACA, NIHB, NIEA, NAFOA, and others is a humbling experience. Each organization brings a unique viewpoint to the table, but we have not lost focus on protecting Tribal Sovereignty and working to enhance Tribal self-determination. Indian Gaming has become a central part of many state and local economies, and the data indicates our industry is playing a strong role in the recovery in those areas. As you can see from this year’s Economic Impact Report, Tribal properties are generating several billion dollars in capital costs, operations, and maintenance, security, and surveillance, goods, and services, etc. Tribes’ remaining revenue is reinvested into the tribal government to help pay for education, health care, police and fire protection, housing, water, sewer service, transportation, government infrastructure, and community development. Tribal Governments, like most governments, exist to provide a better standard of living for their citizens. We know that our Member Tribes are committed to rebuilding their Indian communities and creating sustainable economic models on the reservation. Indian Gaming revenues play a vital role in this endeavor, and together we will continue to share our economic development stories with America. Once Indian Country’s full story is told, all citizens will realize that the growth of Indian Gaming is truly another great American success story. Plea se stop by our offices anytime you are in Washington, D.C. - our doors are always open. We are proud to serve as your voice on Capitol Hill.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2022
ALASKA DELEGATE Vacant EA STERN DELEGATE ROBERT MCGHEE Poarch Band of Creek Indians Alternates: MI CHAEL CONNERS St. Regis Mohawk WILLIAM CANELLA Seneca Nation of Indians
CHAIRMAN ERNEST L. STEVENS, JR. Oneida Nation of Wisconsi
MIDWEST DELEGATE BRANDON STEVENS Oneida Nation of Wisconsin Alternate: MELANIE BENJAMIN Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe ALE X WESAW Pokagon Band of Potawatomi NA VAJO DELEGATE SE TH DAMON, SPEAKER Navajo Nation Alternate: MYRON LIZER, VICE PRESIDENT Navajo Nation NO RTHWEST DELEGATE DENISE HARVEY Confederate Tribes of Grande Ronde A lternate: DAVID Z. BEAN Puyallup Tribe of Indians PA ULETTE JORDAN Co eur D’Alene PA CIFIC DELEGATE M ARK MACARRO, CHAIRMAN Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians Alternates: GARY SANTOS Tule River Tribe ROSEMARY MORILLLO Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians RICHARD JONES Table Mountian Rancheria
VIC E-CHAIRMAN DAVID Z. BEAN Puyallup Tribe of Indians
TREASURER ANDY EBONA Douglas Village
EA STERN OKLAHOMA DELEGATE MA TTHEW MORGAN Chickasaw Nation Alternates: BILLY FRIEND Wyandotte Nation JERRY LANKFORD Miami Tribe CRAIG HARPER Peoria Tribe GREAT PLAINS DELEGATE COLLETTE BROWN Spirit Lake Nation Alternates: BE RNARDO RODRIGUEZ Oglala Sioux Tribe
SE CRETARY PAULETTE JORDAN Coeur D’Alen e
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STAFF
AT-LARGE MEMBERS GREG ABRAHAMSON Spokane Tribe RODNEY BUTLER, CHAIRMAN Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation STE PHEN LEWIS, GOVERNOR Gila River Indian Community KEVIN KILLER, PRESIDENT Oglala Sioux Tribe ASS OCIATE MEMBER DELEGATE (Non-Voting) RUSSELL WITT Director of Operations & Business Development - Class II
Jason Giles Executive Director Muscogee (Creek)
ROCKY MOUNTAIN DELEGATE JENNI WILDCAT No rthern Arapaho Tribe Alternates:
Danielle Her Many Horses Deputy Executive Director/General Counsel
LEE SPOONHUNTER N orthern Arapaho Tribe
Oglala Lakota Kevin Leecy Membership Director Bois Forte
SO UTHERN PLAINS DELEGATE LESTER RANDALL Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas Alternate: JOE POE, JR. Kiowa Tribe S OUTHWEST DELEGATE ST UART PAISANO Pueblo of Sandia Alternate: IDAK FIERRO Pueblo of Pojoaque WE STERN DELEGATE VERLON JOSE Toh ono O’Odham Nation Alternates: PA UL RUSSELL Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation NED NORRIS To hono O’Odham Nation
Angelica Molina Business Manager Navajo (Dine’) Ma ria Ferguson Office Manager Ch elsea Blake Legislative Director Mim i Hoang Associate Membership Director Justice Ramos Receptionist Navajo (Dine’)
Ainsworth Game Technology CHRIS GEORGACAS President, CEO Goff Public
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MEASURING THE IMPACT THAT COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAD ON TRIBAL CASINO CLOSURES, EMPLOYMENT, AND OPERATING EXPENSES BY GAMING REGIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
An Economic Analysis Study
FY 2020
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Contents
Economic Impact Summary
21 22 23 24 25
Introduction Background
Tribal Casino Closures Economic Impact Modeling Methodology Direct, Indirect and Included Multiplier Impact Overview
26 27
Impact Analysis
Employment Gains Areas of Employment Gains Payroll and Related Taxes Federal and State Government Taxes Multiplier and Total Impact Casino Wages & Operation Impact Tribal Gaming Wages Tribal Gaming Operating Expenses Indian Gaming by Region
31 32
34
Portland Region Sacramento Region St. Paul Region Rapid City Region Tulsa and Oklahoma City Region Washington DC Region
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Economic Impact Summary Th e following section presents a summary of the findings and conclusions from the study entitled, “Measuring the impact that COVID-19 pandemic had on Tribal casino closures, employment, and operating expenses by gaming regions in the United States,” which was conducted and authored by Dupris Consulting Group, LLC. on behalf of the National Indian Gaming Association. DIRECT AND MULTIPLIER IMPACT • In 2020, the Indian gaming industry had its first significant drop in revenue, which saw its revenues grow from $11.0B in FY00 to $34.6B in FY19, before falling off to $26.4B in FY20. The only other time the industry witnessed a drop in revenue was in FY09, when the United States economy was impacted by the Great Recession, caused by the collapse of the real estate industry. • At the start of 2020, Tribal gaming operations and ancillary facilities supported 284,646 ongoing direct jobs. As the COVID-19 virus spread and Tribal casinos started to close in March and remain closed through April, the industries casino jobs would fall (90%) to 27,790. • By December 2020, ongoing casino jobs improved significantly and were only down (26.8%) at 203,345 from the start of the year when casinos ongoing direct jobs were at 284,646. • Wages paid to employees of the Tribal gaming industry in 2020 amounted to $7,073,829,893 paid by the casino and $2,395,008,669 paid by government funded programs, such as PPP and unemployment benefits.
• The closings and reopening’s of Tribal casinos at different dates throughout 2020, impacted what was spent in operating expenses in the year. When compared to what was spent in 2019 vs 2020, operating expenses fell from $15,909,599,563 to $11,644,055,563, which represented a drop of (36.6%) • Starting on March 10th, with the closing of the Northern Cheyenne’s casino, wave after wave of casinos closed throughout the month. On March 16th, 86 casinos closed. On March 17th, 161 casinos would close. The following day, another 113 casinos would close. By March-end, 524 tribal casinos would shut down to help stop the spread of the virus. • In the current period, Tribal gaming wages and operating expenses generated significant economic activity which had an overall economic output of $54.3 billion. This represents an economic output of $18.0 billion on the reservation, where all Tribal casinos are located and an economic output of $36.3 billion off the reservation. • At the end of 2020, the overall Indian gaming industry reported a net income of $8,556,776,361. This represented a drop of (32.0%) from 2019, which reported $12,591,354,741. The significance of this number is important, because net income is transferred to the Tribe for governmental program spending and investments, helping to meet gaps in federal funding for Tribal programs. Since government spending is mostly wages and employee benefits, most of that spending stays in the regions the casinos operate in.
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Introduction Tribal Nations in the United States have a unique governmental status. They are classified as sovereign nations, but in terms of jurisdictions, they closely resemble local and state government entities. In most tribal governments, you will find: Tribal courts, police departments, housing departments, planning departments, hospitals, and school systems, as well as cultural and social programs for the youth and elders. Consequently, tribal nations have significant economic and social impacts on their tribal reservations and the regions surrounding those reservations. With the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, Tribal governments in 29 States, have had the opportunity to increase their contribution to the people and communities surrounding their Tribal lands, with a dynamic and growing business in casino entertainment. Furthermore, as was the intent of the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, Indian gaming has saved federal, state, and local taxpayers and governments from being required to fund of billions of dollars for unemployment benefits, food subsidies, health care and education programs. This can be directly quantified in one monetary calculation as Indian Gaming’s 524 properties, in 2020, directly transferred $8.5 billion to Tribal governments for program spending and investments. In 2019, Tribal casinos transferred $12.6 billion to its Tribal governments. Although, this represents a drop of over (32.5%), Tribal casinos impacted by the coronavirus throughout the year, came back strongly to continue transferring revenues to its owners.
In 2020, the Tribal gaming sector of the economy achieved $26.4 billion in gambling revenues and $3.5 billion in ancillary revenues for a total of $29.9 billion in revenues. The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) reported $34.6 billion in gambling revenues in 2019. This represents a (23.6%) decline from the previous year, when compared to what the Dupris Consulting Group had estimated for the National Indian Gaming Association in 2020. Because Ancillary revenues are not tracked by NIGC, the Dupris Consulting Group was not able to calculate a growth percentage to what NIGC would have reported. However, the Dupris Consulting Group has estimated that the growth in ancillary revenues from 2019 to 2020 drastically fell (38.2%). In the current period, Tribal gaming wages and operating expenses generated significant economic activity which had an overall economic output of $54.3 billion. This represents an economic output of $18.0 billion on the reservation, where all Tribal casinos are located and an economic output of $36.3 billion off the reservation. This report measures the impact that COVID-19 pandemic had on Tribal casino closures, employment and operating expenses by regions identified by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) in 2020.
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Background At the start of 2020, Tribal government gaming was off to a good start, having realized a jump of $26.5 billion in revenue from 2010 to $32.4 billion in 2019, which represented a growth rate of 22.4% for the past 10 years. The forecast was set for another revenue breaking year until the COVID-19 Pandemic hit the shores of the United States and forced all Tribal casinos to start closing them in March. By April, the Indian gaming market had shut down to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. It would not be until May that casino properties started to reopen for business. When they did, key parts of their businesses were closed until further notice. These included: Hotel rooms, restaurants, concert venues, nightclubs and bars. While on the gaming side of the business, upwards of 50% of slot machines in a casino remained turned off to allow adequate spacing for customers to play safely from others. All table games were closed because the safety protocols for preventing the spread of coronavirus asked that people remain 6 feet apart from each other. Below are the statistics that the impact COVID-19 had on our Tribal gaming businesses throughout the nation as it re-emerged. • Slot machines – 369,912 (50% out of play) • Table games – 6,620 (75% out of play) • Poker tables – 1,443 (100% out of play) • Bingo seats – 60,869 (100% out of play) • Hotel rooms – 50,118 (75% closed) • Restaurants – 1,652 (90% closed) • Concert venues – 420 (100% closed)
To prepare for their casinos to reopen, rigorous standards were put in place that would prevent the spread of COVID-19. These standards included: Wearing face masks by both customers and employees at all times. Administrating body temperature checks on customers as they entered the property to prevent those with a fever from entering. The placement of hand sanitizer bottles throughout the property to prevent the spread of the virus. Other preventable measures included the casino instituting an extensive cleaning of all surfaces on an hourly basis. Although 2020 presented a challenging year for Tribal governments, nationwide Indian gaming continues to contribute tax revenues, purchasing power, expansion development and jobs throughout the United States where Indian casinos operate. It has become a powerful catalyst for many American Indian Nations, allowing tribes an opportunity for bringing significant economic growth and jobs into their communities, which was almost non-existent prior to the Supreme Court’s 1987 decision in the California v. Cabazon case, as well as the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
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Tribal Casino Closures CORONAVIRUS IMPACTS
together safety training for our employees, to outline social distancing, cleaning and sanitation protocols consistent with CDC recommendations.” As Tribal casinos reopened, what was put in place to protect customers and employees at the Coeur d’Alene Casino from the spread of the coronavirus was repeated across all operations. After closing due to the coronavirus, Tribal casinos remained shut down on average for 94 days, before beginning to reopen again. The top 5 states with Indian casinos to reopen the fastest were: North Carolina, Nevada, Louisiana, Oregon, and Oklahoma. The bottom 5 states to reopen the slowest were: Idaho, Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. On average the top 5 states opened in just over 2 months. For the slowest states to open, the average was 7 months. The data provided here on Tribal casino closures and reopening’s, was provided by Casino City Press, in their database, “COVID-19 Gaming Property Closings and Reopening’s in North America.” The company specializes in the publication of information on the gaming industry. They have a dedicated research team that investigates every aspect of the industry.
On March 10th, the Northern Cheyenne was the first Tribe across Indian country to close its casino, Charging Horse Casino & Hotel in Montana to stop the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Two months and 5 days later, on May 9th, the Tribe reopened its casino for business. The following day, on March 11th, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians would close all three of its casinos and not reopen until the month of August, which represented over 5 months of being closed. For the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, these closures amounted to over 41% of 2020 with a sign on their casinos stating, “Closed for Business.” Starting on March 10th, with the closing of the Northern Cheyenne’s casino, wave after wave of casinos closed throughout the month. On March 16th, 86 casinos closed. On March 17th, 161 casinos would close. The following day, another 113 casinos would close. By March end, 524 tribal casinos would shut down to stop the spread of the virus. On April 27th after being closed for 38 days, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, owners of the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Idaho became the first Tribal casino in Indian country to reopen after closing temporarily due to COVID-19. Once open, enhanced safety measures were put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Coeur d’Alene Casino Chief Executive Officer Laura Stensgar, in a quote explains how she prepared to open the Tribe’s casino to keep customers and employees safe. “We have put a lot of thought and effort into preparing to reopen in the safest way possible. Our team has worked with the medical professionals at Marimn Health to put
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Ec onomic Impact Modeling METHODOLOGY
MULTIPLIER IMPACT Estimations of indirect and induced impacts were prepared using the IMPLAN economic model originally developed for the USDA Forest Service in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the USDA Bureau of Land Management. The IMP LAN model was first developed in 1984 by MIG, Inc., and now known as The IMPLAN Group, LLC. The model uses as a primary foundation the US Department of Commerce Input-Output tables, which were first developed in the 1970s. Its sophisticated input-output modeling application relies on 90 authoritative data sources to support user’s analysis. The effects of the coronavirus represented a structural shift in the United States economy. With major changes to the employment levels and average wage rates plus stimulus checks and PPP loans. As such, the economic analysis presented throughout this report, incorporated IMPLAN’s economic models for the COVID-19 era.
Economic impact assessments are meant to measure the effects of businesses or industries or other economic events within the bounds of geographies or other entities with identifiable boundaries. Economic impacts can be positive, negative or they can mitigate other impacts be they positive or negative. Economic impact analysis is a valuable tool that is used by both business and government to make decisions about new projects, capital investments, the historical effects of past development and the potential effects of a new line of business or government project. For this project, the goal was to identify employment outcomes, spending effects and fiscal effects relative to government-based taxes and government expenses incurred or avoided. DIRECT, INDIRECT & INDUCED IMPACT As br iefly noted above, economic impacts can be direct, indirect or induced. Direct impacts are generally the most obvious such as direct payroll or purchases or taxes paid. Indirect impacts are those generally associated with new business to suppliers of products or services; this new demand is in effect a multiplier on the original capital investment and the ongoing operations of the business being analyzed. Where direct and indirect positive economic impacts, there are positive wealth effects in those communities and industries that are in economic sphere of the growing enterprise, and these are the induced effects. The total economic impact aggregates the direct, indirect and induced impacts into one analysis.
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Impact Overview The Dupris Consulting Group, LLC was asked to provide the National Indian Gaming Association with the primary numbers identifying the economic impacts of Indian Gaming wages and operating expenses for the year 2020. This is done to show how Indian gaming not only impacts the Indian Reservation economies by providing needed jobs and funding for social programs but how it impacts other sectors of the national economy such as Agriculture, Manufacturing, Trade, Service, and Government. As stated above, these impacts in 2020, were measured at $36.3 billion in total economic output and provided 205,570 jobs off the reservation. The t otal numbers of FTE’s/direct gaming & ancillary jobs have been updated using a combination of Dupris Consulting Group’s empirical data collection and survey data sets provided by Casino City Press. To determine the early declines in casino employment caused by COVID-19, and eventual employment rise in the later part of 2020 at Tribal casinos, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics “Current Employment Statistics (CES) Program” was referenced for economic modeling in this study. The CES program produces detailed industry estimates of nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings of workers on payrolls. CES National Estimates produces data for the nation, and CES State and Metro Area produces estimates for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and about 450 metropolitan areas and divisions. Each month, CES surveys approximately 131,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 670,000 individual worksites. Tribal gaming revenues and operating expenses have been updated using a blend of empirical financial metrics
p rovided by Wipfli, LLP, in “The Indian Gaming Cost of Doing Business Report,” for 2019, and Dupris Consulting Group’s empirical data collection for the past two decades, where they have been providing economic research to the National Indian Gaming Association since 2001 and conducting their “Annual Economic Impact of Indian Gaming in the United States.” Other important resources used in analyzing the impacts that COVID-19 had on Tribal gaming was the research that the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) conducted measuring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer spending using card transaction data. Overall, the BEA found large effects of the pandemic on sectors such as accommodations and restaurants, which by the second week of March, showed declines of around 80 percent and 70 percent, respectively. The method used to produce the card spending data series was first developed by the staff at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, along with data scientists from Palantir, a technology company specializing in managing and analyzing big data. The result of applying the methodology of Aladangady and others (2019) is a stable series of card spending intended to be representative at both the national and state levels and for each industry. The series have been shown to be highly correlated to national retail trade categories, restaurants, and lodgings.
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Indirect employment are jobs supported using business services and/or the purchases of products, for example, the purchase of food for restaurants, maintenance services for facilities, purchases of hardware or software, gaming supplies, and other goods and services. Induced employment are jobs supporting local restaurants, gas stations and hotels, banks, grocery stores, computer stores, other services and product companies that supply direct and indirect employees, contractors, customers, and visitors. The Indian gaming Industry creates jobs at three levels. The first level is employment at its 524 casinos, ancillary facilities, and other tribal government departments. The second round of job creation occurs as Indian gaming employees spend their income on goods and services. A third level of employment is created when Indian gaming operations, ancillary facilities and Tribal governments buy goods and services in the economy and make capital improvements.
Impact Analysis This area of the study estimates the total impact of the Indian gaming industry as its employees, and purchasing activities were spent in the States where their casinos and reservations are based. The economic impact analysis takes the direct inputs (payrolls & operating expenses) and measures the indirect and induced impacts that happen in an area that is being proposed for study. Employment Gains In 2020, the total number of jobs created by Indian gaming was 408,915. When calculating the number of jobs created by economic activity, we generally divide the jobs into three groups: Direct Employment, Indirect Employment, and Induced Employment. Direct employment is primarily based on employees hired or contracted directly by the enterprise. These can be full time and part time and contractors. The numbers we post are categorizes as FTE’s or Full-Time-Equivalents.
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Areas of Employment Gains Impacted by COVID-19 in 2020, the Indian gaming industry employed only 203,345 full-time workers. Wages paid to these employees amounted to $9,468,838,562 in 2020, and employment resulting from casino and ancillary business employees spending their disposable incomes generated another 71,081 jobs in the local, regional, and national economy, bringing job creation for the first and second levels to 274,426. In 2020, Indian gaming facilities, and their ancillary businesses spent $11,644,055,563 on goods and services. This spending created another 134,488 jobs. Indian casinos transferred $8,556,776,361 to Tribal Governments, for program spending in 2020. In the previous year, $12,591,354,741 was
transferred over, which represents a drop of (32.0%). Estimations for calculating the number of jobs created from Tribal governments spending transfer payments was not a focus of this study. Had it been, the number of additional jobs created would have been significant. As a job producer in the United States economy, Indian gaming still successfully contributed 408,915 direct and indirect jobs, during a time when the coronavirus was impacting the economy. Although Tribal gaming has matured since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, it continues to add growth and maintains stable employment at all the facilities throughout the United States.
INDIAN GAMING DIRECT AND INDIRECT JOBS
Direct Jobs in Gaming
169,516 33,829 203,345 71,081 134,488 205,570
Direct Jobs from Ancillary (Hotels, Food & Beverage, etc...)
Indirect Jobs from Wages created by Indian Gaming
Indirect Jobs created by tribal casinos purchasing activities of Goods & Services
Indian Gaming Stimulated Jobs Nationwide
408,915
Source: Dupris Consulting Group, LLC & IMPLAN
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