gaming

What happened

The Cabazon and Morongo Bands of Mission Indians ran bingo games on their reservations in Riverside County, California, under federally approved ordinances. California tried to enforce its bingo law against them. In California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (1987), the Supreme Court held that Public Law 280 did not authorize it, because California's bingo statute was a "civil/regulatory" law, not a "criminal/prohibitory" one. The Court also found state authority pre-empted, because it "interferes or is incompatible with federal and tribal interests reflected in federal law."

Congress responded with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Public Law 100-497, signed October 17, 1988. It found that "a principal goal of Federal Indian policy is to promote tribal economic development, tribal self-sufficiency, and strong tribal government," and that tribes have the exclusive right to regulate gaming on Indian lands if the gaming is not prohibited by federal law and is conducted in a state that does not prohibit it as a matter of criminal law and public policy.

The Act's stated purposes include providing a statutory basis for gaming by tribes as a means of promoting tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments, and for regulation to shield gaming from organized crime and ensure the tribe is the primary beneficiary. It also created federal standards and a National Indian Gaming Commission.

Good to know. The two events are linked here by date; no source shown says the Cabazon ruling caused Congress to pass the Act.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error