Non-casino tribe may still profit from gaming

Monday, Jan. 6, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.

PHOENIX -- The signing of a gambling compact by the Navajo Nation won't bring casinos to the reservation, but it could bring profits.

Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye signed a gambling agreement with Gov. Jane Hull on Friday, opening the door for the tribe to lease slot machine rights to other tribes.

Casino gambling remains illegal on the Navajo Reservation, which sprawls across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

But by signing the gambling compact, it opens the way for the tribe to lease its allotment of slot machines to a tribe that has a casino, said Christa Severns, Arizona Gaming Department spokeswoman.

"Signing this agreement will now enable the nation to transfer their devices to other tribes. Of course, the interest and the benefit that we get out of this arrangement will be additional revenues for the Navajo Nation, and for that we are grateful," Begaye said.

The decision to transfer the allotment instead of allowing casinos on the reservation holds true to Navajo conservatism, said Leland Leonard, executive director of the Phoenix Indian Center and a registered Navajo.

"Navajos are really conservative, by and large. And also their traditional beliefs are still intact," he said.

Under the agreement, the Navajo Nation was allotted use of 2,400 slot machines. It can transfer the use of 1,400 machines, leaving 1,000 machines if Navajos choose gaming on their reservation, said Britt Clapham, deputy attorney general for the nation.

The Navajos are the 16th Arizona tribe to sign under Proposition 202.

The initiative, approved in November, allows tribes that don't want casinos to lease their rights to others for the first time. It also allows casinos to expand the number of machines and type of games allowed.

Several other Arizona tribes still need to sign gambling compacts, including the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the last of six tribes needed to cement the new agreements into effect.