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New Gambling Laws Get Hostile Response

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As reported by the Cleveland Plains Dealer: "Plans for new laws to regulate American Indian gambling got a hostile response Tuesday from casino-operating tribes who told a Senate committee they're already amply regulated.

"Although most of the tribes told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs that the 17-year-old Indian Regulatory Gambling Act should not be changed, several told committee Chairman John McCain that they would support a crackdown on off-reservation gaming by Indian tribes.

"…Although Ohio has no federally recognized Indian tribes, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is trying to open casinos in cities including Lorain and Lordstown, with help from non-Indian investors. In an attempt to wrest approval from Ohio officials who oppose gambling, the tribe sued the state on Monday to seek reparations for tribal lands in Ohio that were taken 170 years ago.

"McCain, who authored the law that regulates Indian gambling, says casinos were meant to help tribes pull themselves out of poverty, not serve as cash cows for non-Indian investors, or state governments looking to fill budget holes.

"He said he's irked by tribes' efforts to open casinos outside their reservations, and outside their home states, as well as state attempts to gain revenue from casinos run by sovereign tribes. Law-enforcement witnesses at prior hearings told McCain they feared Indian casinos could become criminal targets…"

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