Casinos in the Tribal Lands
Indian casinos have evolved over the years into becoming a lucrative business. Because the law in some states all around America paves the way for Indian tribes to act as sovereign and rather privileged in the use of their reservation land, this gives them an edge over most local residents of the state in which the reservations are situated. It is often the case that it is fairly easier for Indian tribes to open up casinos within their reservation as compared to the rest of the American population, which in effect, results in these reservation casinos having monopolies in the industry of gambling.
Due to the profitability of casinos owned by Indian tribes in their reservations, there are many cases of a certain tribe seeking approvals to put up a new casino, and requesting for the imposition of a ban on casinos that are non-Indian. A number of efforts are done in order to appropriate funds because of the massive profits that these reservation casinos generate.
Since the gambling industry is regulated by the government, it is difficult to acquire licenses for its operation and this law is what gives the Indian-owned casino operators their edge in the business. There are times when a many forms of corruption can be involved - continuous bribes to politicians, not to mention the perseverance of gambling addictions in the area, which, sometimes could involve the Native Americans having a higher rate of gambling addiction compared to the rest of the population in a particular state.
Some would say that casinos set in Indian reservation land would only give monetary benefit to the smaller tribes that are located close to the city centers, or places that are more developed or are already developed and open for vast tourism. But if the casino is tended by a large tribe wherein the casino provides for a larger number of the population, say twenty thousand people or more, it would be doubtful whether they would benefit as greatly, especially if their reservation is situated in a very rural and backward place that is not frequented by tourists.
If a certain state outlaws gambling, this law would not be effective in a land that is classified as "tribal land". And so, the success stories behind Indian reservation casinos would originate from the fact that they cater to the citizens of that particular state by offering them services that would otherwise be banned if not for the fact that it is on Indian reservation land. Such a set-up has both positive and negative effects on both the Indian and non-Indian population of a state.