Two more California Native American tribes can now operate casinos and another can continue to offer gaming on its lands after Gov. Gavin Newsome signed three gaming compacts this month.
The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians of the Sulphur Bank Rancheria join the 66 other tribes that operate casino gambling in the state.
In addition to these agreements, Newsom also approved an extension of the state’s existing gaming compact with the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians.
Compacts are meant to enhance economic opportunities for the tribes and to support tribal sovereignty while maintaining regulatory oversight over gaming in the state.
Tribes can now offer Class III gaming
Currently, 63 tribes operate 66 casinos in the state. Lawmakers have not made California online casinos legal yet. However, online casino play is legal at sweepstakes and social casinos, which do not use real money.
Both newly signed compacts enable the tribes to operate Class III gaming facilities. The state defines Class III games as “slot machines, electronic games of chance, and many banked card games like blackjack.”
Both tribes can also offer Class II games, which include bingo, lotto, and “non-banked” card games like poker. In Class II games, players compete against each other, not against the house.
The compacts are for 25 years and can be extended, amended, or renegotiated.
The Timbisha Shoshone compact allows the tribe to have 1,200 gaming devices and up to three Class III gaming facilities.
The Elem Indian Colony compact allows for 349 gaming devices and up to two Class III gaming facilities. The tribe had a previous compact with the state ratified in 1999. However, the new agreement outlines devastating environmental and natural disaster challenges that the tribe faced in previous years which “made economic development on the Tribe’s rancheria difficult.”
This Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians extension will allow the tribe to continue its gaming operations under the terms agreed upon in 2000. The agreement was set to expire at the end of the year but now runs to the end of 2025.
Sports betting could further aid tribes
Legalization of California sports betting continues to be a hot topic among gaming tribes and major operators. Tribes could collect millions of dollars every year by offering sports betting.
After several years of tense relations between tribes and commercial sportsbooks, which culminated in a complete rejection by voters of either offering sports betting in the state, the two factions appear to be coming together.
The earliest possible legalization would be in 2026, and it would most likely entail retail sports betting at tribal casinos. Mobile sports wagering could possibly come in 2028.
