Don't Tribal Casinos Operate under State Compacts?

I know a lot of people won't gamble at an Indian casino, because they don't answer to a gambling regulatory board and they're afraid the Indian casino might not offer fair games. But wouldn't the compact that the Indian casino has to sign with the state require them to offer fair games or be at risk of losing the right to operate a casino in the state?

Yes, it's true that state gaming regulators have some degree of influence over tribal casinos, to the extent that influence is defined by the compacts that the tribes negotiated with the states. The National Tribal Gaming Commission, created in 1988 with the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, also monitors and regulates certain aspects of Indian gaming and coordinates its own regulatory responsibilities with tribal regulatory agencies.

From time to time we hear about player-casino disputes at tribal casinos, but no more or less than at commercial casinos, so we don't comment on the contention that "a lot of people won't gamble at an Indian casino, because they don't answer to a gambling regulatory board."

What we did, instead, was to put your question to Richard Schuetz.

Richard has had a fascinating career in gambling, starting out as a blackjack dealer at Harrah's in 1972 while studying economics at UNLV, moving up the ladder to become CEO of the Stratosphere (where we first bumped into him when, coincidentally, he was the boyfriend, later husband, later ex-husband, of then Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones). California Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to the Gambling Control Commission in 2011, where he served until 2015 and helped regulate tribal casinos; he also has experience managing them. He responded as follows.

“The tribes are sovereign nations and they have the primary responsibility of regulating their gaming environments. In my experience, they take this very seriously, to the point of generally overregulating. Tribal casinos have been the economic lifeblood of the tribes and they do not want risk this with some stupid cheating nonsense.

“In California, the state had certain responsibilities in the regulatory process as well and these were specified in the compacts. I've also gone public in a number of environments to suggest that the tribes do a much better job regulating their casinos, in general, than state-regulated commercial casinos.

“This may not make sense to some, but a well-run casino is a profitable enterprise and the tribes do not want to screw this up. The tribes take great pride in their casinos. When I was with Grand Casinos, we were doing a road show to raise money from the financial community. We had Marge Anderson, Tribal Chair of the Mille Lacs Band, come on one of our trips to New York City and one of the slick-haired analysts asked how we could trust the Indians. Marge stood up and suggested that if anyone should have a trust issue, it is the tribes and not the white folks.”

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Comments

Reno Faoro Nov-14-2022

SOARING EAGLE, MI.

A FEW YEARS AGO , some aces removed from 6 deck shoes ?? . heard that it was reported in newspapers . NO SILVER BULLETS FOUND , ]KEEMO SABBIE '

Kevin Lewis Nov-14-2022

The noble Indian

If you have a dispute--like not getting paid a jackpot...you have to sue the tribe in....tribal court. Like the dealer says when she sells you chips...good luck!

Sorta like suing someone, only to find that the defendant is the judge.

Kurt Wiesenbach Nov-14-2022

Tribal casinos

One thing not mentioned, but pretty material to the answer, is that most of the casinos start out being managed or at least consulted by established casino companies. So all of the standard protocols and proper regulatory processes are learned to make the casino run properly. The biggest issue any management has is to make sure they aren't being cheated, by players or employees. It's much harder to accomplish this if the management team is running some kind of scheme. Plus, we fools don't have a problem dropping all of our money whenever we visit, so there's no reason to try to squeeze more out of our pockets, they're already pretty lucrative enterprises for most of the tribes.

Ray Nov-14-2022

Non-tribal myth

I think it is most likely that the casino companies that ARE state regulated started the myth that you couldn't get a fair shake from the tribes because they wanted you to keep spending your money with them. And to Kevin's typically ludicrous comment about lawsuits, suing a casino in Las vegas means going through the government that totally depends on the casinos for their existence and are the chief contributors to the careers of the judges who preside there. No difference.

Dorothy Kahhan Nov-14-2022

I'd like to see a QOD on VP pay schedules

Several years ago, when we visited a newly opened Indian casino in California, we were there on opening day. It was as nice as any modern Las Vegas casino, but I did notice that the VP pay tables kind of sucked, compared to Las Vegas casinos at the time.  I wonder if LVA can offer any insight into the value of games on tribal lands.

Raymond Nov-14-2022

Good Luck

In one of Robert Nersesian's books on gambling and the law, he mentions the problem of trying to collect from a tribal casino if the casino refuses to pay a jackpot.  The judge and defense attorney (presumably) are tribal members, and the tribe stands to make less money if it pays you.  The deck is stacked against you, and if the tribal court rules against you, there is no recourse.

Now I'm not saying that suing a casino in LV is that much different, except that there is recourse beyond the local court if the local judge, beholden to local residents and local casinos, rules against you.  There are appeals courts and federal court.

Bud Ackley Nov-14-2022

That's not what I've heard.

Having spent many wasted hours listening with morbid fascination to "Gambling With an Edge" podcasts wherein we learn how to squander our lives in a Dotty's bar, eating stale Saran-wrapped sandwiches and inhaling enough secondhand smoke to cut our E.S. (expected survival) in half in order to avoid work that provides value to others, I often hear the attorney-to-gamblers guy (forget his name) and others say that one has little recourse if one is treated badly at a tribal casino, and that such treatment is not unknown to occur. In any business, mistreatment of customers is usually inflicted by low level workers, not the executives. IIRC from GWAE podcasts, tribal casinos hate it if you actually win big even more than the commercial casinos and may on occasion make no secret of their displeasure.

Dave_Miller_DJTB Nov-14-2022

Tribal corporations

It should be noted at the Palms and Mohegan Sun at Virgin are 2 casinos in Vegas that are owned by tribes, but are not tribal casinos.

They are not on sovereign tribal land so they operate like and other corporate casino and play by the same rules.

[email protected] Nov-14-2022

Who's not to be trusted?

Some things I never see in Indian Casinos are 6:5 Blackjack (for the most part) or triple zero roulette, and 9:6 video poker is easy to find.

Kenneth Collins Nov-14-2022

Low Mike tone

Why is Andrew's Mike on Las Vegas Advisor, so low,  compared to Andrew's?

OMB13 Nov-14-2022

Dorothy

Most of the VP at tribal casinos can be found at VP Free...
If you're not familiar with it, their website is....
   https://www.vpfree2.com/

Hoppy Nov-14-2022

Rosebud S.D.

Integrity doesn't take some far away 'regulatory board'

Fumb Duck Nov-14-2022

6:5 and three zeroes

The last time I played at the tribal casinos north of San Diego, the blackjack games with minimums below $25 were 6:5 and the roulette wheels that I observed had three zeroes. That was before the pandemic lockdown. I doubt that things have improved since.

At two of them I observed the baring of suspected card counters.

In their defense, two of them had reasonably priced lobster buffets once a week.

Louis666 Nov-15-2022

tribal casinos

Everbody wants to talk about tribal cadinos somehow being unfair. But no one here has sited a single instance of a tribal casino refusing to pY a Jackpot or of a tribal court suruling in the casinos favor after doing such a thing. . Thevtribal casinos are in business to make mony like every casino. It is bad business to get a reputation of cheating your customers and there are plenty of Gamblers who trow their money away on foolish bets and then insist that the casino has cheated them.

Doozey Nov-18-2022

Baring card counters

Now they strip card counters? I keppa my Gucci ata homea.

rds95991 Nov-22-2022

CA Indian Casinos

There are multiple Indian casinos within driving distance of Sacramento, CA.  Between the casinos in Oroville, Colusa, Elk Grove, Wheatland, Lincoln, Placerville, etc. you are never more than 20 - 30 minutes away from a casino.  But, their odds are bad and their table minimums are much higher than an hour and a half  drive to Reno will get you.  They are even worse than Tahoe casinos who are exceptionally bad.

Toad Nov-23-2022

Why I quit gambling

A tribal casino, in my opinion cheating, was the main reason I stopped gambling.

Question of the Day - 14 November 2022

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