Bryan wants crackdown on Indian gaming in California

Thursday, Oct. 30, 1997 | 11:25 a.m.

The U.S. Justice Department is failing to enforce Indian gaming laws in California, allowing 40 Indian tribes to operate 14,000 illegal slot machines, Sen. Richard Bryan said.

"The Justice Department has done an abysmal job of prosecuting illegal Indian gaming," Bryan, D-Nev., told a Senate hearing on Wednesday. "The failure by the U.S. attorneys to enforce the law has created a situation which rewards wrongdoers and those obeying the law suffer the consequences."

Bryan asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to begin an investigation into the Justice Department's failure to enforce Indian gaming regulations.

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, casino and pari-mutuel gaming is allowed on Indian lands where a tribal/state compact has been approved by the governor, the tribes, and the Secretary of the Interior.

States and tribes have entered into 161 compacts in 24 states, including Nevada, where five compacts have been negotiated.

In some states, such as California, there is no compact.

"I believe the inability to reach an agreement rests with the failure of the U.S. attorneys to shut down illegal operations," Bryan said. "Tribes have no incentive to reach an agreement as long as they can continue to operate illegal games with impunity."

Bryan said he met Tuesday with Justice Department officials to push for enforcement of the Indian gaming law, but they refused to do so.

The senator said several U.S. attorneys in California announced they would not enforce the Indian gaming law, and would allow illegal gaming operations to continue.

Speaking to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Bryan also called for increased regulation of Indian gaming establishments.

There are 186 tribes operating 280 casinos in 28 states, generating an estimated $5 billion a year, Bryan said.

The National Indian Gaming Commission, the agency entrusted with Indian gaming regulation, has a budget of $4 million and a staff of 33, Bryan said. Nevada alone spends over $30 million regulating the gaming industry and the state Gaming Control Board has over 400 employees monitoring casinos.