CHAIRMAN’S REPORT ERNEST L. STEVENS, JR. Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
Welcome to Anaheim! T his year will mark the 36th Anniversary of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and I am proud to report our Industry has never been stronger. IGA’s Economic Impact Report for FY 2023 will report tribal gaming revenues of $43.1 Billion! This is an increase of almost $3 billion over FY2022 gaming revenues. It is clear that IGRA has worked to foster economic self- sufficiency on the Reservation. But IGRA was never meant to be a federal welfare program. It did not invent Indian gaming. Most importantly, IGRA did not freeze Indian gaming in time on the date of its enactment in 1988. In fact, I believe IGRA was actually meant to restrict gaming operations on tribal lands. The true history of Indian gaming stems from the U.S. Supreme Court decision in California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. The Supreme Court upheld the inherent sovereign right of Tribal governments to conduct gaming free from state interference. In 1988, states and commercial gaming interests with enhanced lobbying efforts, pressed Congress to reverse the Tribe’s victory in Cabazon. Over the objections of many Tribal Governments, Congress enacted IGRA on October 17, 1988, as a compromise that sought to balance tribal, federal, and state government interests.
4 INDIAN GAMING - ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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