Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing on Tribal Gaming

Steve Mohan in Native Currents. Discussion »

WASHINGTON - The US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is having an Oversight Hearing on the regulation of tribal gaming. A lot of the focus will be on how it has evolved from strictly casino buildings to the internet recently.

This change came about last December when the Justice Department increased the opening for intrastate internet gaming. It said that the Federal Wire Act only applies to sports wagering and does not prevent state lotteries from selling lottery tickets on the internet. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act affects only gaming that takes place on tribal lands. That makes things difficult when it comes to gaming online when it comes to tribes and new legislation might have to be enacted to allow from tribes to take full advantage of online gaming.

Many tribes have casinos and more and more are being planned and built each day. Like any business, tribal casinos can only succeed if they can evolve with the times. Now those times may involve moving some aspects of gaming to the internet. With that comes a lot of hurdles and tricky aspects that this hearing can address to help tribes succeed in moving their gaming into the modern world.

The hearing will be webcast live.

To view the webcast Live use this Link.
Choose the Video tab. The webcast will not appear until the hearing broadcast begins.

WHEN:     Thursday, July 26

TIME:     2:15 pm est

WHERE:   Senate Dirksen G50

Witnesses

The Honorable Tracie Stevens
Chairwoman
National Indian Gaming Commission
Washington DC

The Honorable Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum
Chairman
The Mohegan Tribe
Uncasville, CT

Mr. Glen Gobin
Secretary
Tulalip Tribes of Washington
Tulalip, WA

Mr. Jamie Hummingbird
Chairperson
National Tribal Gaming Commissioners/Regulators
Tahlequah, OK

The Honorable Jon Porter
Former Congressman
President
Porter Gordon Silver Communications
Las Vegas, NV

Ms. Elizabeth Homer
Attorney
Homer Law
Washington DC

updated 6:20 am edt; posted July 25, 2012 6:00 am edt