What is the Commissions role in regulating Indian gaming?
The regulatory scheme for Indian gaming is more complex than a casual reading of the statute might suggest. Although Congress clearly intended regulatory issues to be addressed in Tribal-State compacts, it left a number of key functions in federal hands, including approval authority over compacts, management contracts, and tribal gaming ordinances. Congress also vested the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC or Commission) with broad authority to issue regulations in furtherance of the purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
