The Bee's editorial regarding tribal gaming failed to mention that the standards the California Gambling Control Commission seeks to impose unilaterally on tribes are duplicative, unnecessary and discriminatory.
Ill-considered commentaries like The Bee's leave a clear – though completely erroneous – impression that tribes are avoiding the imposition of minimum internal control standards at our casinos, putting "the public, the state and the tribes themselves" at risk of being "cheated." Nothing could be further from the truth.
After California voters authorized tribal casino gaming, the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, along with other sovereign tribes, entered into compacts with the state that ensured strict regulatory standards for all aspects of our gaming operations.
The tribe's independent Tribal Gaming Agency has adopted a system of internal controls that sets specific policies and procedures Cache Creek Casino must follow to ensure the integrity of its gaming. The internal controls meet or exceed all applicable federal control standards, which, in turn, meet or exceed those imposed by the regulatory bodies in virtually every gaming jurisdiction, including Las Vegas. The Tribal Gaming Agency strictly applies the internal controls, which includes the power to penalize the casino for violations. Moreover, after a court decision stripped the National Indian Gaming Commission's ability to oversee minimum internal control standards enforcement, we and other gaming tribes enacted tribal laws restoring to the commission the oversight authority it lost.
Perhaps most important is that under our compacts, the state already has the power to ensure tribal casinos operate in the public's best interests. Between 2001 and 2007, the state conducted 11 compact compliance site inspections at Cache Creek Casino, which specifically included verifying compliance with the system of internal controls. As such, it is irresponsible to suggest we would do anything other than ensure that our patrons are safe, that our casinos are free of illegal activities, cheating or fraud, or that our games operate as they are intended and that our gaming operation is regularly audited. In fact, the California Gambling Control Commission's attempt to impose excessive, unnecessary standards on tribal gaming violates our compacts, denigrates our operations and purports to compromise the tribal sovereignty that is critical to our existence.
Our tribe and other sovereign gaming tribes are living up to their commitments out of respect for the state and its people. We expect the state to do the same.
Marshall McKay, tribal chairman of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, is responding to the Sept. 12 editorial "Keep an eye on Brown and tribes / Siding with casino tribes on security rules raises questions."
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