"While still wary that online gambling will cut into their casino profits, many tribes now see legalization as inevitable. So they are lobbying Congress for a say in how online gambling might be regulated."
Continued at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ambling05.html
WASHINGTON — Fearing they may get left behind in the rush to expand legalized gambling to the Internet, more U.S. Indian tribes are lining up to back online poker and angling for new ways to cash in.
Consider the Tulalip Tribes in Washington state: Eight months ago, tribal secretary Glen Gobin told Congress that the Tulalips opposed any kind of Internet gambling, regarding it as a threat to their two casinos. But on July 26, he told a Senate panel that tribes now "must have equal footing to participate" and that Congress should consult with them before junking a 2006 ban against online gambling.
"Glen is a realist," said W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, which represents 27 federally recognized tribes.
John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group that represents 1.2 million members across the country, said it's "definitely safe to say that the tribes' position is evolving on a federal solution."
Many tribes still oppose Internet gambling because they worry that gamblers would be less likely to go to casinos if they can stay home and play for money on their computers.
But with many of them now regarding legalization as inevitable, Allen predicted that there will be "less reluctant resistance" as tribes realize that there's little hope of stopping the push for legalization in Congress.
"Inevitably, they're going to pass something," he said. "I think tribes as a general observation would prefer that it not happen, but tribal leaders are being realistic."
Consider the Tulalip Tribes in Washington state: Eight months ago, tribal secretary Glen Gobin told Congress that the Tulalips opposed any kind of Internet gambling, regarding it as a threat to their two casinos. But on July 26, he told a Senate panel that tribes now "must have equal footing to participate" and that Congress should consult with them before junking a 2006 ban against online gambling.
"Glen is a realist," said W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, which represents 27 federally recognized tribes.
John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group that represents 1.2 million members across the country, said it's "definitely safe to say that the tribes' position is evolving on a federal solution."
Many tribes still oppose Internet gambling because they worry that gamblers would be less likely to go to casinos if they can stay home and play for money on their computers.
But with many of them now regarding legalization as inevitable, Allen predicted that there will be "less reluctant resistance" as tribes realize that there's little hope of stopping the push for legalization in Congress.
"Inevitably, they're going to pass something," he said. "I think tribes as a general observation would prefer that it not happen, but tribal leaders are being realistic."
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