Northern Arapaho Leaders Challenge State Gaming Report

The Northern Arapaho Business Council has voiced concerns about a statewide gaming assessment. They claim the report failed to consider the real economic impact gaming expansion has had on tribal casinos.

Spectrum Gaming Group created the study for the Wyoming Gaming Commission and showed it to lawmakers earlier this month. The report suggested that further growth of historical horse racing (HHR) would not decrease tribal casino revenues. Analysts pointed to years of the two industries existing side by side. They also noted that new HHR venues would pop up far from tribal lands, closer to city centers outside Wyoming.

Northern Arapaho spokesman Travis McNiven challenged that finding, highlighting major losses that have already happened since Wyoming made HHR legal in 2013. McNiven said tribal casinos have seen 66% fewer visitors and a 34% decrease in gaming revenue in that period, leading to about 500 job cuts. He emphasized that the state’s review “downplayed” these effects.

McNiven also took issue with how the report handled online gaming. Spectrum predicted that internet-based casino play would not cut into HHR or tribal casino earnings, but might slow their natural growth. After checking the numbers, McNiven said his own study showed that Northern Arapaho gaming profits could drop by another 11% if online casinos became legal. He argued that such a loss would also affect non-gaming features at tribal resorts and cause more job cuts.

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He described mobile casino play as a direct rival to physical locations, pointing out that games on a phone available round the clock, will pull players away from actual buildings.

The spokesperson also called parts of the study “misleading,” wording that hinted HHR operators grab all casino money available in Wyoming because tribal places offer fewer table games, run for shorter times, and sit far from big cities. McNiven said Spectrum never reached out to the tribes to check their operations and asked both the study writers and state lawmakers to visit the Wind River Hotel and Casino to see how they handle Class III gaming.

In his reply, Spectrum advisor Matthew Roob said he had stayed two nights to check out tribal casinos in Fremont County, but pointed out that the Gaming Commission’s job did not cover tribal properties. While tribal spots were not part of the study, he admitted that more gambling across the state could affect how they run.