Casino and the Canadian Indians

Canadian casinos were legalized and developed to raise much-needed revenues for the provinces and/or charitable organizations.

For the most part, they have accomplished that purpose. They are not, however, without their share of problems.

Some of the provinces have already come up against a particularly knotty dilemma; the issue of gaming on Canadian Indian reservations. The First Nations, a tribe of Canadian Indians based in the southeastern region of Saskatchewan, opened a casino that operated only on weekends.

The province did not issue a license to the tribe. While the Indian entrepreneurs and the government were trying to iron out their problems, the casino was allowed to operate.

Since then, the provincial government has devised a system that would allow the Canadian Indians to enter into gaming operations only in cooperation with the non-profit organizations that hold licenses and the Saskatchewan government.

All revenues from the casinos would be shared among the partners.

The Indian developers of the Saskatchewan casino did not see this as a solution.

They believed that the government had no regulatory power over the reservation, especially since there was no specific legislation in place to cover this situation.

Aside from any jurisdictional disputes, the First nations tribe was not satisfied with the proposed division of profits. Since then, however, two groups have come to terms.

Saskatchewan wants a piece of the action as do the Canadian Indians. An agreement was reached early in 1994 that would allow the First Nations and Metis tribes to operate casinos in Regina and Saskatoon in conjunction with the government.

The Manitoba First Nations are permitted to operate government-owned video lottery terminals that are connected to the central monitoring system the government has established.

Several tribes who exercise this legal option retain all the profits from the machines; in return, they pay a certain percentage to the government as an administration fee. Manitoba government officials have other concerns about Indian gaming operations within the province.

They are afraid that if reservation casinos are not regulated as to number and quality, they will glut the market and bring overall casino revenues down.

To date, no partnership with the government over the development and operation of casinos has been discussed among all the concerned parties.

Several Canadian Indian reservations in British Columbia and Alberta have also indicated their willingness to operate casinos.

Not all Indian tribes, however, welcome gaming casinos on their land. A Mohawk tribe in the province of Quebec voted against a measure to allow a casino on the reservation.

The chief of the tribe saw the casino as a viable means of bringing some economic stability to the reserve, but the tribe voted it down.

Many of the tribe members expressed concern that the size of the projected revenues might prove irresistible to organized crime and did not want to risk that association.

In addition, research conducted by the tribe's social worker found that the incidence of gambling addiction among Canadian Indians is six times greater than that of the Canadian population as a whole.