Record growth for tribal casinos
Native American owned and operated gaming facilities experienced their largest growth in revenue in a decade, according to figures released by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
US.- The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) announced that gross gaming revenue among tribal casinos totaled US$29.9 billion in 2015, a 5 percent increase over the previous year and the largest jump in a decade. A total of 474 gambling facilities were operated by 283 tribes last year, whilst 6.5 percent of those facilities brought in over US$250 million, according to the NICG.
The Sacramento region, involving 71 operations across California and Northern Nevada, generated the highest gross gaming revenue (GGR) during 2015 with US$7,881.1m, up 8 percent compared to the previous year.
According to NIGC Chairman Jonadev O. Chaudhuri, “the strong regulation that tribes as well as federal regulators and other stake holders provides has played a key role in the stability and growth of the Indian gaming industry by providing consistency and predictability.”
The Chairman further stated that Indian gaming is fundamentally different than commercial enterprises; it directly provides resources for Indian people including, social services, public works, education, housing, health care, emergency services, public safety and cultural presentation programs that no other economic driver has yet to provide.
“In the 30 years since the Cabazon case was argued before the Supreme Court, Indian gaming has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry annually,” he added.
According to official data, the commercial gambling industry also performed more than well during the previous calendar year. Commercial gambling operations generated a total of US$40.2 billion, representing an all-time high.
