Steve Yeater/The Press-Enterprise
Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, testifies at a hearing on online gaming in 2010.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
SACRAMENTO — Tribes with casinos should have a central role in any legislation that would legalize Internet gaming, American Indian leaders said Tuesday during a national tribal conference.
Legislation to legalize online gaming has languished in Congress but could move during a lame-duck session later this year. In Sacramento, meanwhile, online gaming bills have stalled the last few years amid a deep split among tribes with casinos, but legislation likely will resurface in 2013.
“The ground is shifting under the gaming world’s feet,” Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians near Temecula, told a crowd during Tuesday’s panel discussion at the National Conference of American Indians gathering a few blocks from the state Capitol.
“We think it’s absolutely critical we get it right the first time,” Macarro said. “Tribes need to be prepared to address the impacts of Internet gaming.”
The federal government bans online gambling. But the law allows states to legalize intrastate games.
The Pechanga band is among several Inland Southern California tribes with successful casinos that generate millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs.
Online gaming, though, has divided the region’s tribes.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near San Bernardino are part of a consortium that supports the licensing of online poker. Proponents say it’s vital for tribes to diversify beyond bricks-and-mortar casinos.
But the Pechanga tribe and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have opposed the group’s proposal, as well as other legislation to legalize online poker. Critics say the measures could favor one group of tribes over others, while potentially cannibalizing tribes’ casino business.
Large Las Vegas-based casinos and poker sites have led the support for federal legislation to allow online gamblers to win money playing Texas Hold’em and other Internet-based versions of the popular card game.
Tribal gaming associations have been most skeptical of a federal bill that could siphon away their customers.
Any regulatory scheme must include a significant role for tribes, such as the involvement of the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal leaders said Tuesday. A pending federal measure backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid fails to do that, said Jason Giles, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association.
“Yes, internet gaming is coming. But we also want it to be fair,” Giles said.
In a recent interview with Indian Country Today, Reid said he supported tribes having a role in Internet poker.
