November 15, 2024
GAMBLING

Schwarzenegger OKs gambling expansion

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed new agreements with five Indian tribes Monday that will allow a major expansion of tribal gambling in exchange for billions of dollars in payments to the state over the next quarter-century.

The deal allows an unlimited increase in the number of slot machines at the Indian tribes’ casinos. The current compact, signed by then-Gov. Gray Davis in 1999, limits each tribe to 2,000 machines.

The tribes will pay the state a badly needed $1 billion this year and between $150 million and $200 million a year after that until 2030. In return, the tribes receive a guarantee that they will be California’s only outlet for casino gambling.

“This is a fair deal for the tribes and for the state,” Schwarzenegger said.

The tribes will pay a licensing fee to the state for each additional slot machine above the current cap. The deal is limited to casinos already in operation.

The agreement allows Schwarzenegger to fulfill a campaign promise to make tribes pay a greater share of their casino profits to the state, which has been desperately trying to close multibillion-dollar budget deficits.

The tribes are the Pala Band of Mission Indians, the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, the United Auburn Indian Community, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians and the Pauma Band of Mission Indians.

Schwarzenegger hopes to have new agreements with as many as a dozen Indian tribes, but not all are receptive to the reworked deals.

The Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has sponsored a ballot measure that would allow expanded Indian gaming in return for a payment to the state of 8.8 percent of tribal net income.

Schwarzenegger is seeking more than that. He also opposes another ballot measure that seeks to tax tribes 25 percent and could allow card rooms and racetracks to operate slot machines.

The new compact would likely be void if either initiative passes, administration officials said Monday.


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