22 – INDIAN GAMING - ANNUAL REPORT 2025
Background
The impact of Nationwide Indian Gaming reverberates across the United States, contributing significantly to tax revenues, purchasing power, expansion development, and job creation in regions hosting Indian casinos. It serves as a potent catalyst for numerous American Indian Nations, offering them a rare opportunity to foster substantial economic growth and employment within their communities—a prospect that was virtually nonexistent prior to pivotal legal milestones such as the Supreme Court’s 1987 ruling in California v. Cabazon and the subsequent passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Moreover, aligning with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s original intent in 1988, Indian Gaming has alleviated the burden on federal, state, and local taxpayers and governments, sparing them from having to allocate billions of dollars towards unemployment benefits, income or food subsidies, direct aid to tribal entities, and educational funding. This significant relief can be quantified directly, as evidenced by Indian Gaming’s 528 casino properties substantial contribution of $16.3 billion in direct transfers to Tribal governments for program spending and investments in 2024. For the year, a total of 252 Tribal Governments operated 528 gaming facilities spanning 20.2 million square feet of gaming space across 29 states. These facilities boasted a comprehensive array of amenities, including 385,269 slot machines, 6,573 table games, 1,300 poker tables, 51,833 bingo seats, 54,067 hotel rooms, 1,703 restaurants, 211
entertainment venues, 4,669,940 million square feet of convention space, 404,815 parking spaces and 20,901,092 million square feet of casino space. This collective infrastructure contributed to Indian gaming’s impressive $43.4 billion in gambling revenues and an additional $5.7 billion in ancillary revenues, resulting in total revenues of $49.1 billion. Special Note: In the “Indian Gaming Industry State-by-State Economic Impact Numbers for 2024,” although the total number of Tribes operating casinos at the state level is listed as 259, the grand total of Tribes operating 528 casinos in the United States is 252. Certain Tribal Governments, such as the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Quechan Indian Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, have casino businesses spanning multiple states.
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