| | |  | Last Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 |  | | | Native Americans Benefit from Legal Gambling
- Friday, 31 Mar 2006
While much is written about those opposed to online casino gambling, some of the most vocal support for the gambling industry comes from the country’s Native American tribes. Granted exclusive casino rights by the U.S. government, the tribes benefit heavily from gaming revenues, with many Native American communities dependent on these revenues for healthcare, education and land protection. Gambling revenue also pays for environmental programs, language preservation and care for the elderly.
Many opponents of the gambling industry believe that Native American communities should not be permitted to run legal gambling facilities, others cite that the revenues generated by tribes’ casinos provide valuable taxation revenue. From 2001, all tribes in New Mexico with gambling interests except two began contributing three to eight percent of their net profit from slot machine gaming to the state. Most of these gambling contracts are up for renewal in 2015.
According to the "Indian Gaming Industry Report," conducted by a well known gambling authority, tribes in New Mexico contributed $39.5 million in revenue to both state and local governments in 2004. This represented an increase of seven percent on 2003’s gambling revenues. Those in favour of allowing online casino firms to operate in the U.S. point to these figures as evidence of the many benefits to be gained by legalization and regulation.
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