The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on the gambling industry, but a sector in the US that receives less attention than others is the tribal gaming economy.
In a recent news release Indian Country Today hosts and reporters discussed the economic impact of COVID-19 on Native American casino operations.
With a main source of income cut off due to casino closures, many tribal reservations have become dependent on funds earmarked for community development projects prior to the outbreak.
Detailing how "tribal gaming revenues have an impact far beyond reservation boundaries," reporters from Indian Country Today spoke to tribal leaders and sector operators to hear from the industry.
Gary George , CEO of Oregon's Wild Horse Resort and Casino, was one of the first gaming operators to deal with the coronavirus pandemic after a non-local employee tested positive for the virus.
The CEO detailed that the virus has become a "moment of crisis" for the tribal games industry, and also stated that operators do not know how to respond to the situation.
Heading south to Scottsdale, Arizona, ICT spoke with Marvin Harveyer from the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, who described how the area immediately felt the "economic burden of the closure" despite not testing positive for COVID-19 for a significant period of time. time.
“The government uses these funds to provide services to our members, so when it closed and we did not receive any income sent from the enterprise to the government, we had to look for other ways to work,” he explained.
“Tribal games are a significant contributor to the local and state economy. Tribal gaming revenues were at an all-time high before the pandemic, but as soon as the closure happened, the tribal chiefs braced for the downturn,” the reporter commented. Karina Dominguez from the Pascua Yaqui tribe, who also stressed that Tribal Games generated $34.6 billion in revenue in 2019. , an all-time industry record.
Source - Indian Country Today channel on YouTube
Tribal's gaming revenue message "goes way beyond reservations" first appeared on GamblingTV.com.
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