Tribal casinos win $19.4 billion in ‘04

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | 11:13 a.m.

Indian-owned casinos nationwide won nearly twice as much from gamblers as all of Nevada's casinos last year, according to data released today by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The nation's 367 tribal casinos won $19.4 billion, up 15 percent from 2003. That compares to the roughly $10 billion won by Nevada casinos for the year ended June 30.

Tribal gaming revenue grew 14 percent in 2003 and 15 percent in 2002.

In California, tribal casinos won $5.8 million, up 23 percent from 2003. The California region also includes Northern Nevada, which is negligible.

The commission doesn't report state-specific data because in some states, the figures could reveal too much detail about tribal revenue, figures closely held by tribes, commission spokesman Shawn Pensoneau said.

The data is based on quarterly financial statements sent to the commission by tribes. The statements are required by federal law, which also allows tribes to keep private their financial data.

The figures are comparable to a privately-funded study released last month by Analysis Group Inc. of Los Angeles. The Analysis Group study reported that the nation's 405 tribal casinos generated gambling revenue of $19 billion, up 12 percent from 2003.

That compared with a 14 percent growth rate in 2003, leading study author Alan Meister to conclude that the tribal casino business is maturing in some states though still increasing at a faster rate than commercial casinos.

The American Gaming Association, a trade group representing commercial casinos, recently said its industry won $29 billion in 2004.