Some refuse to participate due to their beliefs, while others simply lack the resources to finance a large casino. There are 562 federally-recognized tribes in the U.S., but only 200 operate casinos. But that doesn’t mean the millions started flowing overnight –setting up tribal casinos involves tribal compacts with the state, casino licensing, and most of all: lots of money. With a few landmark court decisions involving tribes in Florida and California, the stage was set for Native American gaming. After appealing to the Supreme Court, the Seminoles won their right to gamble on their own reservation lands (which are federally-granted territories within states), and that states did not have to right to meddle in reservation affairs.
As gambling was illegal in Florida at the time, they tried to shut down the game. In the 1970s the Seminole tribe of Florida opened a high-stakes bingo operation, which quickly caught the attention of Florida authorities. But after sorting through a long laundry list of regulations, administrative salaries, and strict profit distribution rules, not many come out with a windfall of cash. With the massive success of tribal mega-resort casinos like Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort, people might get the idea that all Native Americans are rich thanks to tribal gaming.
