Watchdog for $46 billion tribal gambling industry can't enforce the law
without a chairperson
[August 10, 2026] By
SAVANNAH PETERS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — On opening day at the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma's
new Harrah’s-branded casino, the tribe's chairman watched customers pack
the gambling floor while a queue of cars spilled out of the parking lot.
“We couldn’t let them in because we were so full,” Chairman Jacob Keyes
said. “That’s a direct impact from the Harrah’s name.”
But a vacancy in Washington is preventing the tribe’s partnership with
the gambling giant from moving beyond branding. Plans for Harrah’s
parent company to take over day-to-day management of the casino in
Chandler, Oklahoma, stalled after it opened in April, because no one is
at the helm of the federal commission that oversees tribal gambling.
The last chairperson of the National Indian Gaming Commission stepped
down from the role in January. President Donald Trump has not nominated
anyone to fill the vacancy. Absent a chair, the commission is unable to
perform some key responsibilities, like enforcing legal and safety
violations, approving new tribal gambling laws and certifying management
agreements between tribes and casino operators.
Industry leaders say the agency's inertia risks delaying business deals,
weakening oversight and leaving tribes without a key advocate in
Washington as they grapple with an emerging threat posed by online
prediction markets.
“At this crucial time, the (National Indian Gaming Commission) is
operating with one arm tied behind its back,” said Jonodev Chaudhuri, a
former NIGC chair from 2013 to 2019 and a citizen of the Muscogee
(Creek) Nation. “That’s a very precarious position for tribes and Indian
gaming."
There’s a lot at stake for tribes that rely heavily on casino revenue to
fund healthcare, housing, education and other vital services. Tribal
gambling brought in a record $46 billion in 2025, nearly triple the
annual casino revenue of gambling powerhouse Nevada.
The commission's core powers are vested in its chair
With its Harrah’s contract stuck in limbo, the Iowa Tribe’s small
government staff finds itself managing the 175,000-square-foot (16,258
square-meter) casino, a mammoth task it had intended to outsource.
“It’s discouraging. We’re paying a fee and not getting the full value,”
Keyes said.
The decision to outsource management was strategic: Harrah's branding
would bring in more business than existing staff could accommodate.
Instead, staff has to balance management with other priorities like
preparing tribal budgets and overseeing social programs, Keyes said.
The three-member gaming commission was formed in 1988 to regulate
casino-style gambling and promote economic development on tribal lands.
Some 250 tribal governments across 29 states now operate 545 gambling
facilities, the commission said.
Under federal law, its enforcement powers are vested solely in the
chairperson. Industry leaders say its inability to cite casinos for
violating federal law or force the emergency closure of unsafe
facilities is particularly troubling.
In a typical year, the commission issues several citations to tribes for
operating casinos on unauthorized lands, failing to submit required
financial statements, misusing revenues and other violations. The
commission's last enforcement action was issued on Jan. 12 — the same
day acting chairperson Sharon Avery's term expired. She remains on the
commission.
The commission declined an interview request and said in an emailed
statement that tribal officials and its field staff provide “excellent
regulation" amid the leadership gap. But Steven Light, an expert in
tribal gambling law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the
lack of enforcement power could discourage investment in tribal gambling
and slow business growth.
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The Harrah's Casino, owned by the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, is seen in
Chandler, Okla., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Brittany
Bendabout)
 “Markets function best when there's
stability and certainty around processes and rules,” Light said.
Prediction markets have emerged as a new threat to tribal gaming
The commission vacancy comes as the popularity of online prediction
markets like Kalshi and Polymarket explodes. Tribal leaders fear
those platforms, which allow users to wager on the outcome of
virtually any event, could violate their sovereignty and take a bite
out of gambling revenue.
“Every dollar generated by Indian gaming goes to fund healthcare for
our people, education for our children, housing for our elders,”
said David Bean, chairman of the Indian Gaming Association and a
citizen of the Puyallup Tribe.
At least eight tribes have sued prediction market platforms,
alleging they accept bets from tribal lands and in states where
tribes have exclusive gambling rights in violation of the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act, which the gaming commission is tasked with
enforcing.
Prediction markets argue their users are engaging in futures
trading, not gambling, and dispute claims that they are
circumventing regulation.
The commission chairperson typically serves as an advocate for the
tribal gambling industry in Washington, according to former
commissioners and staffers. Yet it's been conspicuously silent while
the federal government weighs how to regulate prediction markets,
said Joe Valandra, the commission’s chief of staff from 2005 to 2007
and a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
James Siva, who leads the California Nations Indian Gaming
Association and is vice chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission
Indians, said the Trump administration's support of and business
ties to the prediction markets industry could explain why it hasn't
filled the vacancy.
“These things are happening in conjunction with each other,” Siva
said in April at a news conference with the Indian Gaming
Association. “It is not a coincidence by any means.”
The leadership gap spans two administrations
The commission's last Senate-confirmed chairperson termed out under
former President Joe Biden without a successor in place.
A White House spokesperson called the commission a “valued board”
but did not say when a new nomination will be made.
In April, Trump appointed Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
Billy Kirkland, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, to the commission.
That's raised questions about potential executive branch influence
over an agency designed to be independent.
“This crosses that threshold in an uncomfortable way,” said Shannon
O’Loughlin, the commission’s chief of staff from 2015 to 2017 and a
citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Keyes said a crucial opportunity to develop his tribe's economy
hangs in the balance. He doesn't see the commission vacancy as
partisan play.
“I don’t want to sound like sour grapes, but when have Native
American issues ever been prioritized by the federal government?” he
said.
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