 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! |
Gaming News
Seneca Gaming Compact Gets Mixed Review15 November 2002NEW YORK—As reported by the New York Times Union: "U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has approved a gaming compact between the state and the Seneca Nation of Indians, but she expressed concerns that the lucrative revenue-sharing plan insisted upon by Gov. George Pataki is stretching the limits of the law that allows such agreements, according to her letter to the governor. "Norton's Nov. 12 letter to Pataki and the Senecas says she is `extremely concerned that the principles underlying the enactment of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act are being stretched in ways Congress never imagined.' "The federal gaming law requires the state to allow tribes to open casinos if casinolike games are already authorized in the state. However, the act does not allow the state to require payment from the tribe. States have been able to arrange for revenue sharing when they grant exclusive rights to tribes. "The compact with the Senecas, though, requires the tribe to turn over a percentage of slot revenues to the state. That was a key ingredient of the October 2001 legislation allowing expansion of gambling in New York. "…The Senecas are expected to share a growing amount of slot revenues, rising from 18 percent to 25 percent during the 14-year compact. "…Opponents of the compact interpreted the letter as an indication that the secretary was conflicted…" |