Navajo Slots Agreement

The way the whole Indian Gaming thing works is that every state needs to come to a decision and agreement with their tribes that outlines what is ok or not ok. That means that every state retains the power to determine whether or not gambling is legal, and if so, exactly what kind of gambling is ok, and then the exact number of each type of game. In addition, any tribe can take advantage of their allotted number of games by either having and running their own casino, or by coming into an agreement, or a lease, with another tribe, that will run “their” machines in their own casino. That way, they get to split the revenue.

All these agreements are basically outlined in a 1988 law called the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The latest deal to take advantage of this law is the Gila River tribe, whose company, the Gila River Gaming Enterprises, Inc., has gotten the green light for more slots! While they already have the rights to over two thousand machines, spread over a few different casinos, the tribe has decided to expand through a leasing deal with the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation of course is like the United States in that it is a whole that is made up of many various, smaller parts that are independent but operate as a whole. The Navajo nation is actually leasing several hundreds of its slot machines to various smaller tribes who do not have their own casinos. It looks like a win, win.

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