Posted on 12/03/2006 2:51:01 PM PST by WestTexasWend
-U.S. auditors claim relations with state tribes still good-
Federal auditors fear they are losing the authority to regulate newer, fast-paced gaming machines that are taking over some Oklahoma tribal casinos.
Tribal casinos in other states have started shutting out government inspectors after an October federal court ruling that limited the National Indian Gaming Commission's authority over certain games.
However, the commission's chairman, Philip Hogen, said the ruling hasn't soured his agency's relationship with Oklahoma tribes.
"There have been a lot of tribes that said ‘don't bother coming here,'" Hogen said, but such a move would be unlikely for an Oklahoma tribe.
Most casinos in Oklahoma use Class II, or bingo-based, gaming machines, Hogen said. Class III games, such as electronic slot machines and certain card games, only are allowed through tribal compacts with the state.
The FireLake Grand Casino near Shawnee is the first to be fully compacted to run only Class III games.
Oklahoma tribes that compact with the state usually offer both types of games in their casinos, and the games often are indistinguishable to the average player, Hogen said. Most casino records don't make that distinction either, making it nearly impossible for National Indian Gaming Commission auditors to track where money from Class III machines winds up.
Because most tribal casinos in Oklahoma offer Class II games, it would be hard for them to escape the commission's watch, even if the agency loses its authority to regulate the Class III machines, Hogen said.
Class III accounts for 80 percent
A 1988 federal law gave tribes the ability to run gaming operations as a way to generate revenue and created the commission to oversee tribal gaming, said Shawn Pensoneau, the agency's spokesman. At the time, most gaming consisted of bingo halls.
Class III games now are predominant in the $20-billion-per-year Indian gaming industry, accounting for about 88 percent of that revenue, Pensoneau said.
The National Indian Gaming Commission has monitored those games as they began to grow more popular until an Arizona tribe challenged whether the agency had the authority to assume that role.
Pensoneau said his agency is asking lawmakers to clarify its role in Class III gaming and is considering an appeal of the court's decision.
If the commission loses that authority, oversight of tribal gaming would fall back on the state and individual tribes.
Check, balances seen
Brian Foster, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, said he sees nothing wrong with that scenario.
Foster, who also manages Lucky Star Casino in Concho, said the Cheyenne-Arapaho tribe has its own gaming commission, which uses the same standards as the National Indian Gaming Commission when conducting audits of the casino. The tribe also is accountable to state auditors and its findings are submitted to the commission, he said.
"I think there are plenty of checks and balances," Foster said.
Hogen said tribal gaming inspectors often are too involved in casino operations to be truly objective. Even state inspectors have a vested interest in the casinos they monitor because the state receives part of that revenue through its gaming compacts, he said.
Without independent oversight, Hogen said he fears the growing gaming industry could become fraught with corruption.
All I know is that on my recent trip to Oklahoma (I live in South-Central Kansas about 40 miles from the state line) that I am about $300 poorer. My wife and I only go to casinos about once every year or so. It's just expensive fun to us.
I agree with you--isn't "regulating" them a little like regulating Canada? Having said that, remember the adage, "Federal money equals federal control." If they want to have it one way, we need to stop the "foreign aid."
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