The numbers are staggering. Since the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was passed in 1988, Californians have been fleeced by Native American tribal casinos to the tune of over $100 billion dollars, and all under the guise of "self sufficiency" and "economic independence." With nearly 100 Native American tribal casinos, California leads the nation by a wide margin. In 2024 California Native American tribal casinos are expected to generate over $10 billion dollars in tax free gambling revenue. Not surprisingly, California also leads the nation with the most problem gamblers. Estimates put that number between 1-3 million, somewhere between the populations of San Jose and Los Angeles.
To say that California Native American tribes have lost their way is an understatement. The poster child tribe is the Jamul Indian Village tribe in the San Diego area. Jamul has approximately 50 tribal members on a reservation that encompasses a little more than 6 acres. After more than 20 years of controversy and opposition, Jamul forced their casino on San Diegans in 2016. Jamul is expanding and building a hotel adjacent to their casino which is slated to open in 2025. How do you cram a 3 level casino, 16 story hotel and a 5 level parking structure into 6 acres? You do it by evicting the tribal residents then building on top of and all around your ancestors. When the Jamul Casino, new hotel and parking structure are completed, it will occupy all but less than a quarter acre of the Jamul Indian Village tribe's ancestral burial grounds. Even the sacredness of thousand year old Native American ancestral graves have not stopped California's second Gold Rush. The Jamul Indian Village tribe's story is not unique. Native American tribes all over the country have lost their way.
Californians have been preyed upon by Native American tribal casinos for over 3 decades. Unlike Nevada casinos, California Native American tribal casinos are on federally recognized tribal reservations and therefore have the protection of and often hide behind their sovereignty. Many of the same laws that apply off Native American tribal reservations do not apply on Native American tribal reservations. California Native American tribal casinos don't pay state or federal taxes on their massive gambling revenues. California passed the country's first smoking ban in 1995. Some tribes like the Sycuan Band of Mission Indians also in the San Diego area sell their own brands of cigarettes. Jamul gives away a free pack a day to gamblers and you can even choose menthols which are illegal to sell in California. Smoking is not banned in any of the nearly 100 California Native American tribal casinos. Cigarettes kill approximately 50,000 Californians a year or the equivalent of the population of San Luis Obispo.
California Native American tribal casinos are policed by their own Tribal Gaming Commissions with very little oversight from the state. The Tribal Gaming Commissions are often tribal members with an inherent interest in the casino's profits. The Tribal Gaming Commission's primary purpose is to ensure the fairness and integrity of the casino games for the players. This is the proverbial "fox in charge of the henhouse." Tribal Gaming Commissions are the only recourse players have who have been cheated by California Native American tribal casinos.
For years the Pechanga Band of Indians have been participating in one of the most egregious examples of corruption within Native American tribes by creating their own kangaroo court to arbitrarily disenroll tribal members as is detailed on the website www.OriginalPechanga.com. The fewer tribal members means more per capita income for the remaining tribal members. The corruption within Native American tribal gaming predates the IGRA of 1988 and goes all the way back to the tribal bingo parlors of the 1970s.
"Where there is power, greed and money, corruption will surely follow."
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