The Tribal Gaming Informational Brochure in its entirety in PDF.
How many tribes are there in Michigan?
Answer: There are 12 federally recognized Indian tribes operating 18 casino locations.
They are:
Bay Mills Indian Community
Grand Traverse Band
Gun Lake Tribe
Hannahville Tribe
Keweenaw Bay Band
Lac Vieux Desert Band
Little River Band
Little Traverse Bay Bands
Nottawaseppi Huron Potawatomi
Pokagon Band
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe
What are Native American Casinos?
Answer: Native American tribes are sovereign nations. As such, neither the State of Michigan nor the MGCB has regulatory authority over tribal casinos. They are regulated by the National Indian Gaming Commission and/or the government of the appropriate tribal community. There are 18 casinos owned and operated by Native American tribes throughout the state of Michigan in both the upper and lower peninsulas.
Why can Indians conduct gambling activities?
Answer: Tribal land is not under State law unless a Federal law places it under State law. The Supreme Court held that even if a tribe is under State law the State gaming regulations do not apply on Indian trust land. In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act permitting federally recognized Indian tribes the ability to conduct gaming activities under certain circumstances. This law allows traditional Tribal gaming, bingo, pull-tabs, lotto, punchboards, tip jars, and certain card games on tribal land. However, it requires a Tribal/State compact for all other forms of gaming.
Congress specifies that "Indian tribes have the exclusive right to regulate gaming activity on Indian lands if the gaming activity is not specifically prohibited by Federal law and is conducted within a State which does not, as a matter of criminal law and public policy, prohibit such gaming activity. Congress then went on to define, in Section 2703, certain games as Class I, II, or III.
Who governs an Indian Tribe?
Answer: Indian Tribes are independent entities with powers of self-government that predate the establishment of the United States.
Michigan tribal casinos are operated under the authority of the Tribal-State Compacts mutually entered into between the Tribes and the State of Michigan, as well as the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The Michigan Tribal-State Compacts
do not
provide a resolution process for problems and issues that may arise between a patron and a tribal casino, i.e., a dispute over slot machine payouts or malfunctions.
What exactly is sovereignty?
Answer: Sovereignty refers to the absolute power to govern; the tribes enjoy the same status as another state government or foreign country. Sovereignty as it applies to tribal governments is the authority to govern within territorial jurisdictions called "reservation trust land."
What are Tribal-Sate Gaming Compacts?
Answer: They are written agreements between the tribal communities and the State of Michigan signed by the Governor and give the MGCB staff oversight responsibility for the state's Native American casinos.
There are currently 12 State-Tribal Compacts signed in 1993 & 1998.
The Michigan Tribal Casinos operate in compliance with either a 1993 or 1998 Tribal-State Compact
The 1993 tribes are:
These tribes operate 15 casino locations.
The 1998 tribes are:
-
Little River Band - Manistee County
-
Little Traverse Bay Bands - Emmet County
-
Nottawaseppi Huron - Battle Creek (Opening September 2008)
-
Pokagon Band - New Buffalo (Four Winds Casino Opened August of 2007)
These tribes operate 3 casino locations.
What are MGCB's responsibilities under the Tribal-State Compacts?
Answer: The MGCB Tribal Gaming Section is charged with inspecting tribal facilities and documents to assure compliance with Tribal-State Gaming Compacts and related agreements. The Tribal Gaming Section may examine casinos' electronic games of chance (slot machines, video poker, etc.) to assure that devices are operating in accordance with terms of Compacts. They may also conduct financial audits to assure that tribes are paying to the State 8% of Net Win derived from electronic games of chance, and the semi-annual 2% payments to local municipalities, in accordance with the August 1993 Consent Judgment.
What is a Federally recognized Indian Tribe?
Answer: There are about 562 federally recognized Tribes in the United States. "Federally recognized" means these tribes and groups have a special, legal relationship with the United States government. This relationship is referred to as a government-to-government relationship. This recognition establishes a tribe as an entity with the capacity to engage in government-to-government relations with the United States or individual states and as one eligible to receive federal services.
Can
Tribal Casinos be taxed?
Answer: No. States by federal law may not tax the tribes. However, a Tribal-State Compact may contain a fee or annual payment agreed upon by the State and the Tribes.
What is the role of the Federal government with regard to Indian Tribes?
?
Answer: The United States has what federal courts have described as plenary power to regulate Indian affairs. The United States, through its various departments within the Executive branch, stands in the role of trustee for Indian tribes in many matters. Indian tribes are subject to federal laws of general application unless a specific law provides otherwise.
What Tribal Payments are made to the State?
Answer: The Michigan Tribal Casinos make both 2% payments to the locals units of government and 8% payments to the Michigan Strategic Fund. The payments are based on the "net win," which is the total amount wagered on each electronic game of chance, minus the total amount paid to players for winning wagers at such machines.
Payments must be made by each Michigan Tribe operating a casino. These payments are paid directly to the State of Michigan (8% payments) and/or local government (2% payments) pursuant to the terms of the 1993 Federal Court Consent Judgment between either the State and the Tribes, or subsequent respective 1998 Tribal-State Compacts.
Tribal 2% payments are based on the electronic gaming revenues and are derived from all Class III electronic games of chance. The semi-annual 2% payments are made by all tribal casinos to local units of state government or local revenue sharing boards in accordance with the Tribal-State Compacts.
The 8% payments to the Michigan Strategic Fund are also based on the tribal casino revenues from electronic gaming. Currently, only one (1) of the tribes under the 1993 Tribal-State Compact (there are seven tribes) is making this payment due to a land agreement with the state. All four (4) of the 1998 Tribal-State compacted tribes are required to make 8% payments to the Michigan Strategic Fund.
What are Class I games?
Answer: Class I games are social games solely for prizes of minimal value or traditional forms of Indian gaming engaged in by individuals as a part of, or in connection with, tribal ceremonies or celebrations. These games are regulated solely by the tribes.
What are Class II games?
Answer: Class II games as defined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and consist of bingo played for monetary prizes, including pull-tabs, lotto, and instant bingo. Class II games also include card games that are not prohibited by the laws of the state and are played at any location in the state.
What are Class III Games?
Answer: Class III games would include any electronic games of chance, such as slot machines, video poker, etc.
What Class III Games are authorized in Michigan?
Answer: The Tribe may lawfully conduct the following Class III games on eligible Indian lands:
Craps and related dice games;
Wheel games, including "Big Wheel" and related games; Roulette; Banking card games that are not otherwise treated as Class II gaming in Michigan pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 2703(7)(C), and non-banking card games played by any Michigan tribe on or before May 1, 1988; Slots & Electronic games; Keno
Can Tribal casinos serve alcoholic beverages?
Answer: Yes. Tribal-State Compacts provide for the sale of alcoholic beverages on tribe premises.
How do I file a patron complaint against a tribal casino?
Answer: The Tribal-State compacts require a patron file their complaint with the Indian Casino's tribal government (usually the tribal gaming commission) or with National Indian Gaming Commission, an agency of the U.S. Government, to resolve any issues or disputes with respect to the operations of the establishment(s).
To contact the National Indian Gaming Commission Regional Office:
Call (651) 290-4004 or write:
Mr. John Peterson
Regional Director National Indian Gaming Commission
380 Jackson Street, Suite 420
St. Paul, MN 55101
Note: The State of Michigan cannot become involved with the resolution of specific patron-tribal casino disputes. The State of Michigan cannot represent the interests of either the patron or the tribal gaming casino. The patron should first attempt to resolve disputes with the tribal government, which owns the particular casino. If you have any questions concerning the filing of a patron complaint, you may contact the Michigan Gaming Control Board Tribal Gaming Section at (517) 241- 0136
.
For more information contact:
Mr. Eric T. Bush
Administrative Manager
Tribal Gaming Section
Michigan Gaming Control Board
1500 Abbott Road, Suite 400
East Lansing, MI 48823
Telephone (517)-241-0136
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