Tribal Gaming Watchdog Paralyzed Without Chairperson
The federal commission responsible for overseeing the $46 billion tribal gambling industry has been unable to enforce the law since January, when its last chairperson stepped down without a successor. President Donald Trump has not nominated anyone to fill the vacancy at the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), leaving the agency unable to perform critical functions including enforcing legal and safety violations, approving new tribal gambling laws, and certifying management agreements between tribes and casino operators.
The leadership vacuum is having real-world consequences. On opening day at the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma’s new Harrah’s-branded casino in Chandler, Oklahoma, Chairman Jacob Keyes watched customers pack the gambling floor while cars spilled out of the parking lot. “We couldn’t let them in because we were so full,” Keyes said. “That’s a direct impact from the Harrah’s name.” But plans for Harrah’s parent company Caesars Entertainment to take over day-to-day management of the $200 million facility stalled because the NIGC cannot certify the management agreement without a chairperson. The tribe’s small government staff now manages the 175,000-square-foot casino themselves. “It’s discouraging. We’re paying a fee and not getting the full value,” Keyes told AP News.
A Commission Without Its Core Authority
The NIGC was formed in 1988 under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to regulate casino-style gambling and promote economic development on tribal lands. Some 250 tribal governments across 29 states now operate 545 gambling facilities, generating a record $46.2 billion in gross gaming revenue in fiscal year 2025 — nearly triple Nevada’s annual casino revenue, according to Tribal Business News.
Under federal law, the commission’s enforcement powers are vested solely in the chairperson. This includes the authority to issue citations for violations, approve tribal gaming ordinances, certify management agreements, and issue emergency closure orders for unsafe facilities. In a typical year, the commission issues several citations to tribes for violations ranging from operating casinos on unauthorized lands to misusing revenues. The commission’s last enforcement action was issued on January 12 — the same day acting chairperson Sharon Avery’s term expired. She remains on the commission as Associate Commissioner.
“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.”
Steven Light, an expert in tribal gambling law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, warned that the lack of enforcement power could discourage investment and slow business growth. “Markets function best when there’s stability and certainty around processes and rules,” Light said.
A Leadership Gap Spanning Two Administrations
The commission’s last Senate-confirmed chairperson termed out under former President Joe Biden without a successor in place. Biden’s nominee, Patrice H. Kunesh, was approved by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs but never received a confirmation vote in the full Senate before the end of the session.
The vacancy deepened in April when Vice Chair Jeannie Hovland departed, leaving Avery as the sole commissioner. In May, Trump appointed Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, to the commission as an Associate Commissioner — a dual role that has raised questions about potential executive branch influence over an agency designed to be independent. The NIGC announced Kirkland’s appointment on June 1, with Kirkland saying “the Trump administration supports tribal sovereignty and economic development.”
Shannon O’Loughlin, the commission’s chief of staff from 2015 to 2017 and a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, expressed concern about the arrangement. “This crosses that threshold in an uncomfortable way,” she said.
At a Senate oversight hearing in May, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) pressed Kirkland on his dual role, noting that tribes have been at odds with the administration over prediction markets. “The tribes have been suing, man. You’re at odds here. I don’t know how you’re gonna do it,” Lujan told Kirkland, according to Indianz.com.
Kirkland acknowledged the urgency: “We had an unprecedented resignation that has put a lot of tribes and tribal economies and economic development at risk, and we wanna make sure that gap is filled as possible.”
Prediction Markets: A New Threat on the Horizon
The commission vacancy comes as tribal leaders confront a new challenge: the explosive growth of online prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. These platforms allow users to wager on the outcome of virtually any event, and tribal leaders fear they could violate tribal sovereignty and siphon revenue from regulated tribal gaming operations.
“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, as AP News reported. The platforms argue their users are engaging in futures trading, not gambling.
The commission chairperson typically serves as an advocate for the tribal gambling industry in Washington, yet the agency has been conspicuously silent while the federal government weighs how to regulate prediction markets. 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. “It is not a coincidence by any means.”
At an August 5 roundtable before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, tribal leaders urged Congress to establish clear statutory definitions preventing prediction markets from being treated as financial derivatives, as Tribal Business News reported. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) admitted she was “asleep at the switch” regarding prediction markets.
What’s at Stake
Tribes rely heavily on casino revenue to fund healthcare, housing, education, and other vital services. The NIGC’s inability to certify management agreements, enforce violations, and advocate for the industry in Washington leaves tribes in a precarious position as they navigate both regulatory paralysis and new competitive threats.
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 asked.
A White House spokesperson called the commission a “valued board” but did not say when a new nomination will be made. Until then, the watchdog for the nation’s largest gambling industry remains unable to do its job — leaving tribes, casino operators, and regulators waiting for leadership that has yet to arrive.