State of the Tribal Nations Address Given at the 28th Western Indian Gaming Conference, Threats to Tribal Gaming Discussed

Press Release
For Immediate Release

Contact: James May
(916) 754-7540
james@cniga.com

State of the Tribal Nations Address Given at the 28th Western Indian Gaming Conference, Threats to Tribal Gaming Discussed

February 25, 2025

Temecula, Calif.- More than 500 tribal leaders, regulators, industry professionals and policy experts, gathered at the 28th annual Western Indian Gaming Conference at Pechanga Resort Casino this week for a series of speeches, workshops, and an expanded tradeshow.
The WIGC and trade show has proven to be one of the most informative conferences in Indian Country and features the annual State of the Tribal Nations Address during the General Session that kicks off the conference.

This year, the State of the Tribal Nations was delivered by CNIGA Chairman James Siva. In the address, Chairman Siva began by acknowledging the tragic fires that struck Los Angeles and thanked the numerous tribes that had contributed to the firefighting and relief efforts.

He highlighted a new economic study on tribal government gaming's economic impacts from Beacon Economics. Among the main findings are that in 2021 expenditures from tribal gaming operations in California generated approximately $17.2 billion in economic output, which currently supports 85,200 jobs statewide. That jobs number is up from 56,000 in 2012. He further cited several individual tribal economic projects throughout the state.

Chairman Siva touted CNIGA's legislative accomplishments in the past year, including successful legislation allowing giving tribes standing in state court to sue commercial card rooms for offering illegal games, and to stop excessive payments into the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund.

In the address, Chairman Siva updated members on efforts to increase payments to tribes who receive monies from the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund (RSTF). These efforts have culminated in new legislation this year, AB 221, authored by Assemblymember James Ramos, which disburses funds from the Tribal Nations Grant Fund (TNGF), which is funded by the RSTF and disburses funds to eligible non and limited gaming tribes.

Ominously, he warned tribes of continued threats from a wide variety of sources from commercial sources such as an increase of commercial gaming relating to daily fantasy sports, sweepstakes, peer-to-peer wagering, crypto casinos and more. He urged tribes to stay vigilant against these threats.

"There is nobody better to protect tribal gaming rights than tribes themselves. Don't be fooled, these commercial operators don't care about the long-term success of our governments, they care about their out of state balance sheets," said Siva. "Tribal governments are working diligently and thoughtfully, and we will move forward with a sports wagering initiative when the time is right. "
A full transcription of which can be obtained on the CNIGA website at:
https://cniga.com/press_releases/state-of-the-tribal-nations-speech-2025/

Following the State of Tribal Nations and echoing Chairman Siva's warnings of multiple commercial threats to tribal gaming, a series of panel discussions was hosted by Victor Rocha, founder and editor of Pechanga.net. The panels focused on various threats to tribal government gaming. Characterizing a nebulous series of commercial gaming actions as "the biggest threat to Indian gaming in my lifetime…..the threats are coming from all directions." Rocha moderated panels that examined the various threats posed by sweepstakes casinos, daily fantasy sports, crypto casinos and illegal gaming at commercial card rooms.

In addition to the general session, the next two days will feature various seminars and workshops focusing on tribal governmental issues, casino operations and security, regulation, finance, and also a series that, with state bar approval, counts toward the 25 hours of minimum continuing legal education requirements (MCLE) that the state of California requires of attorneys to complete every three years.
The WIGC takes place from Tuesday February 25 through Thursday February 27 this year and is held every year in February.
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About CNIGA:
The California Nations Indian Gaming Association is a non-profit association comprised of 53 federally recognized tribal governments dedicated to the protection of tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of tribes to have gaming on Indian lands.

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