Members of the US House Committee approved a bill intended to prevent the establishment of a casino in the western part of Phoenix. H.R. 308 was approved by the House Natural Resources Committee, which means that Tohono O’odham Nation will be prevented from establishing a casino in the state when the current gaming compacts expire in 2027.
The O’odham tribe has been trying to build a casino in the area for quite some time. Tribal leaders managed to obtain the land, located in the north part of the University of Phoenix Stadium and relied on a law, which came into force in 1986 in order to achieve their goal.
According to the law, the O’odham tribe is basically allowed to replace lost lands in Arizona.
The bill in question was supported by Trent Franks and Paul Gosar, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and last but not least, Gila River Indian Community.
As a matter of fact, the above-mentioned tribes are already available in the area, which means that the establishment of a casino run by the O’odham Nation would pose a threat to their business.
The Governor of Gila River, Stephen Roe Lewis, commented on the aforementioned bill and said that local officials regard it as a victory over the attempts for creating chaos in the tribal gambling affairs of Arizona and letting one tribe violate the long-established rules.
Those who are totally against the casino establishment have previously tried to pass various bills aimed at prohibiting the tribe from completing a casino project. For one reason or another, none of these bills was approved. This time, they hope for a positive outcome as now, the Republicans are in charge of both Congress chambers.
People familiar with the matter said that the bill does not intend to hurt the gambling sector of Arizona. Actually, it serves as a means for setting a particular limit on the number of casinos in the area.
Actually, the O’odhams have already started the building procedures of West Valley Resort Casino and tribal leaders expressed their disappointment with the bill and the fact that they are not given the chance to diversify the economy by offering a large number of construction and permanent jobs.
Instead, they believe the job positions have been sacrificed so as the interests of a few wealthy people are protected. In addition, they shared that their opponents spent a large sum of money on lobbying against the casino construction.
