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.
6 INDIAN GAMING - ANNUAL REPORT 2022
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