- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Gaming
Here’s our monthly roundup of tribal gaming coverage, including casino expansions, partnerships, executive changes and and other news.
NIGC nominee outlines plans for cybersecurity, development
Patrice H. Kunesh (Standing Rock Lakota), the Biden Administration’s nominee for the next chairperson for the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), testified in mid-September before the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs as to her plans for the organization if she is appointed.
During the Sept. 18 hearing, Kunesh said she would focus on ensuring the NIGC would help the Indian gaming industry maintain its record high revenues and rise to new cybersecurity challenges.
When asked about the latter by Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Kunesh said technology has “completely changed” the landscape of tribal gaming, and that the NIGC would need to adjust its governance to accommodate those changes.
“There’s an urgent need for the NIGC to stay ahead of current technology with its regulations,” Kunesh said during the hearing. “I see the need to really look at what risks are occurring around the safety and security of gaming…tribes are holding vast amounts of data on their customers. I think it would be one of my top priorities to do an assessment of NIGC to evaluate their technology to identify any weaknesses.”
Kunesh also tackled an apparent intersection between casino gaming and human trafficking. (Per a report by security organization ASIS International, casinos and hotels are a prime target for traffickers hoping to conceal sex trafficking.) In answering a question from Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on the topic, Kunesh pointed to her current position as commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), a federal agency that promotes self-sufficiency for Native Americans with grant funding for community-based projects, as well as training and technical assistance for tribes and Native-serving organizations.
Kunesh said she would use her work with the ANA as a baseline for addressing the issue through the NIGC. To begin addressing the problem in earnest, however, the NIGC needs to close data gaps on how “prevalent” the issue is among tribal casinos specifically, Kunesh said.
“There’s not much data on [the intersection between gaming and human trafficking,]” Kunesh said. “I think that’s one thing I would like to focus on is understanding that data better - between the Department of Human Services and Department of Justice and other organizations to really understand what is the magnitude or the prevalence of trafficking in these institutions.”
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has not yet voted on Kunesh’s confirmation.
Tribes can now sue card rooms in California as SB 549 becomes law
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law allowing tribes to sue the state’s 80 or so private card rooms, per a report by nonprofit media company Calmatters.org.
Senate Bill 549, or the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act gives California tribes legal grounds to sue cardrooms they believe to be treading on tribal gaming exclusivity by offering games such as baccarat and blackjack.
The bill provides a one-time exception to allow tribes to step in on their legal behalf, where normally a tribe’s status as a sovereign nation would prevent them from filing such suits. Tribes can sue the cardrooms to force them to stop offering games - not for financial gain, per the bill. Under the law, tribes have until April 1, 2025 to file suits.
The bill passed the California state legislature in late August and headed to Newsom’s desk, where it was signed in late September. Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians’ chairman John Christman thanked the California legislature and Newsom for their support
“California’s past has been tragic for tribes, but this bill represents an important recognition of our rights and renewed commitment to the future of the state’s Native people,” Christman said in a statement provided to trade publication I-Gaming Business.
DEVELOPMENTS
The Oklahoma-based Apache Lonestar Casino, owned by the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, has announced plans to expand by the end of 2024, per a report by Indian Gaming. The expansion will add more than 2,000 square feet of gaming space and additional seating for the Lonestar Bar and Grill. Currently, the casino offers 611 slot machines and six blackjack tables; with expanding gaming space, the operation can also offer Texas Hold ‘em.
“This expansion reflects our commitment to continually improving our offerings and providing more variety and excitement for our guests,” said Kristopher Killsfirst Sr., casino manager, speaking to Indian Gaming.
NOTEWORTHY
The Cayuga Nation has settled with New York’s licensed mobile lottery provider Jackpocket following a lawsuit filed in April this year, attesting that the provider was operating illegally on tribal land. The terms of the settlement have not yet been disclosed. Once finalized, the Cayuga Nation’s tribal government will need to approve the settlement.
Jackpocket operates a mobile lottery game via phones, as well as lottery machines that were placed on the tribe’s reservation in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. Per a prior Tribal Business News report, the lawsuit alleges these machines “undermined” the tribe’s authority and failed to offer a required 60 percent of net revenues to the tribe.
GAMING PEOPLE
Snoqualmie Casino, the gaming operation of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, has announced a changing of the guard as it nears the completion of a major expansion, reports Indian Gaming. The operation’s former CFO Mary Lou Patterson has been promoted to interim CEO, while previous Snoqualmie Gaming Commission director Daniel Hanson has stepped into the CFO position. Lastly, the casino has hired Asim Bajwa as director of hotel operations, playing to Bajwa’s experience with opening operations with Caesars Palace, per the Indian Gaming report.
The position changes come ahead of the casino’s expansion, featuring an expanded gaming floor, a new hotel, and a 2,000-seat entertainment and convention center, per the casino’s website. That expansion is slated to open in early 2025.
If you have news or information about Indian gaming, expansions, developments,or emerging stories, shoot me a note at [email protected].
