"Indian gaming represents only about 7% of the entire legal gambling industry in the United States. By way of comparison, Indian governmental gaming is dwarfed by the other forms of governmental gaming, state lotteries and associated state-operated gaming, which comprises 37% of the industry. Commercial gambling, including casinos, horse and dog racing, OTB [Off-Track Betting], and jai alai, represents 36% of the industry. The remaining 20% is composed of charitable gaming activities and miscellaneous gaming. Of the 550 Federally-recognized Indian tribes in the United States only 130, or less than one-fourth, have class III Indian gaming enterprises. These class III facilities are located in 25 states, as compared with the 37 states which have lotteries.

"But, Mr. Chairman, despite unfounded allegations to the contrary, Indian gaming is the most regulated and scrutinized form of gaming in the United States . . .

"From the very beginning of the growth as gaming as a means of raising tribal revenues, the opponents of Indian gaming, who perceived their economic interests to be threatened, have predicted a whole litany of evils which would result from Indian gaming. They have been quick to predict that organized crime would take over Indian gaming, and use Indian casinos for money laundering and skimming. Further, they asserted that unorganized crime, in the form of prostitution, robberies, and muggings would overwhelm the reservations and surrounding communities. Management companies would rip off the tribes, and corrupt tribal officials would embezzle all the profits.

"It has been 10 years since Indian gaming began to grow and seven years since enactment of IGRA [Indian Gaming Regulatory Act]. My own tribe, the Oneida of Wisconsin, has been involved in gaming for 20 years. To the chagrin of our opponents, the dire predictions they forecast for Indian gaming did not come true, and their scare tactics have not worked. organized crime has not taken over Indian gaming. Witnesses representing the Justice Departnment and the FBI have appeared before Congressional committees on four occasions in the last four years and expressly stated that they have no evidence of organized crime infiltration of Indian gaming . . .

"Several national and state-wide studiies have already been made of the economic and social impact of Indian gaming. They have shown that about 290,000 jobs have been created nationwide, with about 85% of those jobs held by non-Indians. Unemployment rates on and near reservations with Indian casinos have significantly decreased. Public assistance rolls and costs have dropped sharply. Small business activity has increased and subsidiary businesses have been created. The tax base for city, county, state and federal governments have gone up . . . The studies were objective and conducted by highly regarded organizations or institutions, such as Deloit Touche, Peat Marwick, and Coopers and Lybrand . . .

"In the 1988 decision in the Cabazon case, the Supreme Court of the United States made clear that Indian tribes may not engage in gaming activities within their own territory and jurisdiction unless the laws of the state in which they are located has made such gambling legal for its citizens. If a majority of the citizens of any state wish to shut down Indian gaming on moral grounds, they have the power at hand to do so. They can force their own state government to amend the law to criminally prohibit all gaming for all citizens of the state. A total of 48 of the 50 states have gaming in some form. Only Utah and Hawaii do not. Utah has Indian tribes, but those tribes cannot game because there is no legal authority under state law and, consequently, under IGRA. But, it is hypocritical and economic racism for any of the other states to oppose Indian gaming."

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