Overview:
The Indian Gaming Association is strengthening its national advocacy efforts as it prepares for the 2027 Congress. During meetings with California Tribal leaders, IGA Chairman David Z. Bean outlined plans to expand the organization’s team, increase Tribal participation and address emerging threats to Tribal gaming and sovereignty, particularly prediction markets offering sports betting and casino-style gambling. IGA is pursuing both legislative and legal strategies to protect the rights of Tribal Nations.
Indian Gaming Association (IGA) Chairman David Z. Bean and IGA leadership traveled to California this week to meet directly with Tribal leaders and provide updates on the Association’s organizational priorities, legislative advocacy and ongoing legal efforts to protect Tribal sovereignty and Indian gaming.
The California outreach began Monday with a meeting with the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Council at the Yuhaaviatam Tribal Building in San Bernardino, California. Chairman Bean thanked Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena and the Tribal Council for their continued leadership, partnership and long-standing support of the Indian Gaming Association.
Bean was joined by IGA Executive Director Jason Giles and Reid Milanovich, former Chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who recently joined IGA as a consultant focusing on legislative and regulatory affairs. IGA is drawing upon Milanovich’s experience as a California Tribal leader and his relationships with California’s congressional delegation and other federal policymakers to strengthen the Association’s advocacy on behalf of Indian gaming.
On Thursday, August 20, IGA leadership continued its California outreach at the California Nations Indian Gaming Association member Tribal meeting at Viejas Casino & Resort in Alpine, California. The meeting provided Tribal leaders with updates on IGA’s direction and the major policy and legal issues facing Indian Country.
“California’s Tribal Nations have always played a critical role in protecting Tribal sovereignty and strengthening Indian gaming, and it is important that IGA is here listening, communicating and working directly with our member Tribes,” Chairman Bean said. “Our focus is clear. We are strengthening the team at IGA, sharpening our advocacy and making sure we have the people and resources in place to address the challenges facing Tribal governments today and those we know are coming tomorrow.”
Strengthening and Advancing the IGA Team
A central focus of the meetings was IGA’s effort to strengthen its internal team and position the organization for 2027 and beyond.
IGA is bringing in PaaWee Rivera, a former White House tribal affairs official and citizen of the Pueblo of Pojoaque, to assist with several organizational initiatives, including growing Tribal membership and expanding Tribal participation in IGA’s annual tradeshow. IGA currently maintains approximately 120 Tribal members annually and is working to bring additional gaming Tribes into the national coalition.
The Association is also working to expand staffing at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, including front office and administrative support and additional legislative affairs personnel. IGA’s goal is to build a stronger legislative team capable of working effectively across party lines as a new Congress begins in 2027.
“Our responsibility is not simply to respond to the issue in front of us today,” Bean said. “We have to build an organization that is prepared for what is next, whether that is prediction markets, artificial intelligence, energy policy, new economic opportunities or another challenge that impacts Tribal gaming and Tribal sovereignty. That requires a strong team working together with a clear purpose.”
IGA is also looking at ways to broaden the reach of its annual tradeshow by creating opportunities for Native-owned businesses and Tribal industries, including agriculture and food sovereignty initiatives, Tribal energy enterprises and other emerging sectors of Tribal economic development.
Legislative Focus on Prediction Markets
IGA leaders also provided updates on the Association’s continued federal advocacy regarding prediction markets offering sports wagering and casino-style gambling.
Over the past several months, IGA has participated in congressional roundtables before the House Agriculture Committee and Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, where the Association has raised concerns regarding the impact of prediction markets on Tribal gaming, consumer protections and, most importantly, Tribal sovereignty.
IGA has also continued working with Tribal leaders and its congressional allies on legislation that would prohibit sports betting and casino games from being offered through prediction market platforms. The IGA-NCAI Task Force continues to coordinate information and advocacy efforts across Indian Country as Tribes prepare for a critical fall legislative session.
Chairman Bean said the growing congressional attention demonstrates that Tribal advocacy is making an impact.
“This issue started with Indian Country warning that prediction markets were crossing directly into regulated gaming,” Bean said. “Today, more members of Congress are asking the same questions and recognizing that sports betting and casino gambling cannot simply be relabeled to avoid the laws that protect Tribal, state and regulated gaming.”
Legal Efforts Continue in Federal and State Courts
IGA also briefed California Tribal leaders on significant legal developments involving prediction markets.
IGA and the National Congress of American Indians continue working on Tribal amicus briefs in federal litigation, with IGA General Counsel and NCAI coordinating closely with attorney Michael Hoenig. IGA and NCAI are also working with the Native American Rights Fund’s Supreme Court Project on an amicus brief supporting New Jersey’s petition to the United States Supreme Court.
Courts in several states, including New York, Connecticut and Nevada, have issued rulings challenging prediction market claims that sports wagers are federally regulated “swaps” under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s jurisdiction.
“These legal cases are extremely important because they go directly to whether federal commodities law can be used to bypass Tribal-state compacts, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the established framework governing gaming in this country,” Bean said. “IGA will continue standing with our member Tribes and our national partners wherever Tribal sovereignty is at stake.”
Bean said this week’s meetings reflect IGA’s continued commitment to maintaining direct communication with its member Tribes.
“IGA belongs to our member Tribes,” Bean said. “We want Tribal leaders to know what we are working on, where we are going and how we are strengthening the Association to better serve them. Our visit to Yuhaaviatam and our meeting with California Tribal leaders at CNIGA are part of that commitment. We are stronger when we stay connected, work together and speak with a unified voice.”
IGA leadership will continue its national outreach in the coming weeks, including meetings with Tribal leaders and national organizations as the Association prepares for a critical fall legislative period and the beginning of a new Congress in 2027.
