Alaska Tribe Fast Tracks Gambling Hall Fearing Trump Veto

The Native Village of Eklutna (NVE) opened a temporary electronic bingo “casino” on its land 20 miles outside of Anchorage on Monday while it rushes to build a larger venue, the Chin’an Gaming Hall, on the same plot.

Alaska’s fourth electronic bingo venue is a far cry from the Las Vegas Strip. It’s composed of a handful of gaming machines set up in a temporary modular building close to Birchwood Airport. Only eight people are permitted to play the machines at any one time, and they must be invited, according to a statement by the tribe.

Nevertheless, NVE president Aaron Leggett hailed the moment as a “historic milestone in the journey toward true self-determination for the Native Village of Eklutna.”

Frantic Scramble                             

The tribe has been trying to get the casino off the ground for years, but until recently, was frustrated by laws that confer a different legal status on Alaska tribes than that of tribes in the rest of the US.

The Biden administration changed that and threw the NVE a bone, and the frantic scramble to get the casino up and running may be due to concerns that the Trump administration may be less aligned with the tribe’s ambitions.

Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), sovereign tribes can operate class II gaming facilities such as electronic bingo halls on their territories without the permission of the state, provided similar gambling products are legal elsewhere in the state.

The federal Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which predated IGRA, reclassified Alaska tribes as private corporations rather than sovereign nations with sovereign powers.

The three tribes that already offer very small bingo halls – all based in Alaska’s far southwest – either opted out of ANSCA or had land taken into trust by the federal government before the enactment of ANSCA.

In November 2023, the Biden administration provided a breakthrough for NVE. A legal opinion issued by the US Interior Department determined that ANSCA didn’t prohibit the federal government from taking land into trust for Alaska Natives. This paved the way for the federal National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to approve the casino.

Trumpian Headwinds?

Because this was a legal opinion, as opposed to an actual law enacted by Congress, it would be relatively simple for the Trump administration to reverse it. And Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) has asked it to do just that.

While Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance (I) is backing the venue, the tribe is also facing a lawsuit from some local residents who are opposed to the casino.

The suit argues that NVE is “not a federally recognized tribe whose governing body possesses powers of self-government.”

Legget downplayed suggestions that potential hostility from the incoming administration had played into the tribe’s plans.

“We had an opportunity, and we moved forward quickly,” he told The Anchorage Daily News. “The Native Village of Eklutna has waited decades for this opportunity. Tribal members have been told by their parents and grandparents about this. Some were in tears at the opening. This is about providing for the Eklutna people and helping grow the local economy.”