Indian gaming up nationwide, but growth slows in South Dakota

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Gaming revenue at American Indian casinos experienced a nationwide turnaround in 2010, while revenue at South Dakota tribal casinos grew at a slower rate than in the past, according to a new report.

The statistics, released today, are included in “Casino City’s Indian Gaming Industry Report” by Alan Meister, an economist with Nathan Associates Inc. The report gives in-depth information on national and state-by-state trends in the tribal gaming industry through 2010.

“In the wake of the Great Recession, Indian gaming, like much of the U.S. economy, showed signs of recovery in 2010,” the report states.

Nationwide, gambling revenue at tribal casinos amounted to $26.7 billion in 2010. The sum is a 1.3 percent increase from 2009, when a 1 percent revenue decline was the first such decline in recorded history.

According to the report, in 2010 there were 239 tribes operating 448 gaming facilities in 28 states.

Nine tribes operated 11 gaming facilities in South Dakota in 2010 and generated $104.3 million in gaming revenue, 18th most in the nation.

The facilities generated another $14.8 million in non-gaming revenue.

Gaming revenue grew 1.1 percent at South Dakota’s tribal casinos in 2010, half the 2009 increase of 2.2 percent and a further decline from the 3.7 percent increase in 2008. After being ranked 12th in the nation in tribal gaming revenue growth in 2008 and 2009, the state dropped to 16th in 2010.

South Dakota’s 11 tribal gaming facilities operated 2,124 slot machines in 2010, a 4 percent decrease from 2009, and 69 table games, a 3 percent increase from 2009.

The state’s nontribal commercial casinos generated $106.2 million in gaming revenue in 2010, a 4.2 percent increase from $101.9 million in 2009.

The $210.5 million in gaming revenue generated between South Dakota’s tribal and commercial casinos amounted to 0.3 percent of the $61.3 billion in total gaming revenue nationwide in 2010.

The report highlighted several recent developments in South Dakota’s tribal gaming industry, including the closing of Bear Soldier Bingo in McLaughlin in February 2010, the expansion of the Fort Randall Casino in Lake Andes in June 2011, the expansion of the Royal River Casino and Hotel in Flandreau in October 2011, the opening of East Winds Casino in Martin in December 2011, the renovation and expansion plans for the Rosebud Casino and possible plans for a gaming facility on the Cheyenne River Reservation.

A recent change to state law that raised the betting limit at Deadwood casinos from $100 to $1,000 could also impact Indian casinos, as they are allowed to match the betting limits at the state’s nontribal casinos. The change was signed into law by Gov. Dennis Daugaard on March 1 and is the first increase of its kind since 2000 when the betting limit was raised from $5 to $100.

Tribal casinos generated 44 percent of all U.S. gaming revenue in 2010, barely outdone by commercial casinos, which generated 45 percent.

The report estimated tribal gaming nationwide generated $12.4 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2010, as well as 706,000 jobs and $29.2 billion in wages.

Total tribal gaming revenue has increased from $121 million in 1988 to $26.7 billion in 2010 and has more than doubled its share of the gaming market in the last 17 years.

“While the mid-term outlook for Indian gaming is positive, the long-term outlook for Indian gaming is uncertain,” the report concludes, citing factors such as increasing regulation and competition as future challenges for the industry.

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