[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 115 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





INTRODUCTION OF REMOVING FEDERAL BARRIERS TO OFFERING OF MOBILE WAGERS 
                          ON INDIAN LANDS ACT

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                          HON. J. LUIS CORREA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 2021

  Mr. CORREA. Madam Speaker, today, I introduced the Removing Federal 
Barriers to Offering of Mobile Wagers on Indian Lands Act. Tribal 
government gaming is the primary source of revenue for hundreds of 
tribal nations throughout this country who otherwise would not have the 
basic resources to provide for the health, safety and general welfare 
of their citizens and others who live on tribal lands. This economic 
development activity has been key to tribal economies since the United 
States Supreme Court first affirmed the inherent sovereign right of 
tribal governments to conduct gaming on their lands in 1987. A year 
later, in 1988, Congress enacted restrictions on tribal government 
gaming through the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This law 
affirmed the right of tribal governments to conduct gaming on their 
lands but tried to balance the equities between tribal and state 
governments when tribes are conducting Las Vegas style gaming.
  Not every tribal nation is able to conduct gaming, but for those who 
are located in viable gaming markets, it has proven to be one of their 
more successful economic ventures. Many tribal nations have become 
economic engines in their regions, employing thousands of people and 
investing tens of millions of dollars into the regional economies on an 
annual basis.
  However, the gaming industry is quickly evolving and more and more 
states are legalizing some form of gaming activity that primarily 
utilizes the internet. Sophisticated, well-financed digital companies 
that did not exist even ten years ago are changing the gaming industry 
before our eyes. Online sports betting seems to be the popular choice 
this year for many state legislatures.
  As tribal governments begin to prepare to move their gaming 
activities into the online world, there have been some questions about 
whether such gaming activities would continue to be primarily governed 
by the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The federal law governing 
tribal gaming was enacted in 1988, prior to the internet being readily 
available, and the law does not expressly address the internet. As you 
can imagine, setting up these new gaming systems involves significant 
financial investments. Tribal governments should not be required to 
make these investments without having clarity and comfort of what laws 
will apply to them. For that reason, I am introducing this bill to 
clarify the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and make clear what 
the congressional drafters would have done in 1988 had the internet 
been around at time. This bill would clarify that for purposes of 
tribal government gaming, the location of the wager occurs at the 
location of the server, unless a state and Indian tribe otherwise 
agree. Making this clarification will keep intact the current system of 
tribal gaming and eliminate any frivolous litigation. Tribal government 
gaming has been around for more than 30 years and this bill merely 
clarifies how that system of gaming should evolve into the internet.
  This bill does not authorize any type of internet gaming; that is 
within the authority of each state to do. All this bill does is 
clarifies the location of where the wager takes place for purposes of 
tribal government gaming. It clarifies that internet gaming will be 
conducted by tribal governments under the same framework that they 
currently conduct gaming in their physical casinos.
  As someone who has long lived in a state with more than 110 federally 
recognized tribal nations, I have seen firsthand how tribal government 
gaming has benefitted the tribal nations, their citizens, the 
surrounding communities and the state government. This bill is merely 
intended to provide some clarity and comfort as tribal gaming moves 
into the next frontier of the internet. As the United States Supreme 
Court confirmed in 1987, tribal governments retained the inherent 
sovereign right to conduct gaming on their lands. Congress needs to 
provide the clarification in my bill to ensure that tribal gaming is 
not relegated to the same fate as Blockbuster, but can move forward and 
thrive like Netflix in the era of the internet.

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