Opponents of gambling expansion are calling for the federal government to institute a two-year moratorium on permitting the development of off-reservation casinos.
Gambling foes from more than 20 states gathered at a recent Washington news conference to call for the Bush administration to halt the approval of casinos off American Indian reservations in order for Congress to study a 1988 law regulating Indian gambling.
An off-reservation casino, also referred to as reservation shopping, involves the purchase of nonreservation property by an Indian tribe, which asks the federal government to hold the land in trust, making it tribal land as a result. Private developers then are able to build casinos on the land. State and local laws do not apply to such casinos, which are not taxable, the opponents said.
The proliferation of gambling is causing widespread societal problems, said Jeff Benedict, an author and president of the Connecticut Alliance Against Casino Expansion. These include increases in divorces, suicides, bankruptcies and property foreclosures, he told reporters.
A two-year moratorium on permits for off-reservation casinos would enable Congress to re-examine the 17-year-old Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which has “more holes in it than Swiss cheese,” Benedict said. “It’s being exploited to the detriment of Indian tribes; it’s hurting states, and it’s disregarding the needs of local communities and citizens.”
(BP)
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