ALPINE, CA – Indian Gaming Association (IGA) Chairman David Z. Bean and IGA leadership traveled to California last week to meet with tribal leaders and provide updates on the Association’s organizational priorities, legislative advocacy and legal efforts related to tribal sovereignty and Indian gaming.
The outreach began Monday with a meeting with the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Council at the Yuhaaviatam Tribal Building in San Bernardino, where Bean thanked Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena and the Tribal Council for their continued partnership and support of IGA.
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. Milanovich will work with IGA on advocacy involving California’s congressional delegation and other federal policymakers.
On Thursday, Aug. 20, IGA leadership attended the California Nations Indian Gaming Association member tribal meeting at Viejas Casino & Resort in Alpine, providing updates on the Association and 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,” said Chairman Bean. “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 prepare the organization for 2027 and beyond.
IGA is bringing in PaaWee Rivera, former White House tribal affairs official and a citizen of the Pueblo of Pojoaque, to assist with initiatives including growing tribal membership and expanding tribal participation in IGA’s annual tradeshow. IGA currently has approximately 120 tribal members and is working to add gaming tribes to the national coalition.
The Association is also seeking to expand staffing at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, including administrative support and additional legislative affairs personnel, with the goal of strengthening its legislative team ahead of the new Congress in 2027.
“Our responsibility is not simply to respond to the issue in front of us today,” said Bean. “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 considering ways to broaden its annual tradeshow to include additional Native-owned businesses and tribal industries, including agriculture, food sovereignty, energy and other areas of tribal economic development.
Legislative Focus on Prediction Markets
IGA leaders provided updates on the Association’s federal advocacy regarding prediction markets offering sports wagering and casino-style gambling.
In recent months, IGA has participated in congressional roundtables before the House Agriculture Committee and Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, raising concerns about the potential impact of prediction markets on tribal gaming, consumer protections and tribal sovereignty.
IGA is also working with tribal leaders and 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 advocacy efforts as tribes prepare for the fall legislative session.
“This issue started with Indian Country warning that prediction markets were crossing directly into regulated gaming,” said Bean. “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 tribal leaders on legal developments involving prediction markets.
IGA and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) are working on tribal amicus briefs in federal litigation, with IGA General Counsel and NCAI coordinating with attorney Michael Hoenig. The organizations are also working with the Native American Rights Fund’s Supreme Court Project on an amicus brief supporting New Jersey’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Courts in several states, including New York, Connecticut and Nevada, have issued rulings addressing 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,” said Bean. “IGA will continue standing with our member tribes and our national partners wherever tribal sovereignty is at stake.”
Bean said the meetings were part of IGA’s ongoing effort to maintain direct communication with member tribes.
“IGA belongs to our member tribes,” said Bean. “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 plans to continue its outreach in the coming weeks, including meetings with tribal leaders and national organizations ahead of the fall legislative period and the beginning of a new Congress in 2027.
