Indian Tribes Get It Right In Sharing Casino Wealth

Tribal casinos usually play by a different set of rules than other casinos in their states. That may be a good thing if the revenue sharing system of these tribal casinos is to be believed.

In regular state regulated casinos, there is no such thing as revenue sharing. Managers may get bonuses, but for the community, it is up to the state how casino revenue money is spent. That system is not the one used by Indian tribes.

Take the Yakama Tribe. Members of the Yakama tribe could be getting $2,000 each from profits at the tribe's casino. The money does not go into streets or schools, just directly into the pockets of the tribal members.

The chain reaction from giving each member that $2,000 bonus is that the economy gets stronger. $2,000 extra dollars to push back into the economy will strengthen an economy in a hurry.

"What the Indian tribes do varies from tribe to tribe, but in most cases, their members are receiving checks on a monthly basis from the profits of their casinos. In some cases like what could happen with the Yakamas, they will even receive a lump bonus," said economist Kylie Resonder.

The Yakama tribe has almost 10,000 members, and with them receiving $2,000 each, that is a lot of money that will be pumped into the economy. Resonder believes it would help to adopt this type of strategy at the state level.

"These states are receiving millions of dollars annually from casinos within their state. If they took some of that money and gave it back to citizens of their states, the economy could do nothing but improve."

December 14, 2008
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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