The Chippewas of Mnjikaning host Casino Rama on their land in Orillia, Ontario, and also receive 35 percent of the casino's net profits. The Chippewas bid against other tribes in the province to host the casino on their land and won, with the agreement that the casino's profits would be split among Ontario's tribes to benefit First Nations people, and the province would not take a share.

When the Chippewas borrowed $40 million from the province to finance construction of the casino in 1996, an issue arose that is now the subject of a court case 13 years later. The Chippewas claim that the province shut down construction on the project after lending financing to the tribe, essentially holding the project hostage until the First Nations agreed to give 20 percent of the casino's profits to the Ontario government.

The Chippewas are now suing the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. over the 20 percent the government takes from Casino Rama's revenues. The province is supporting the claims of the other tribal chiefs, who say that the Chippewas' 35 percent piece of the pie was not an indefinite arrangement, and that the casino's revenues should be shared equally among the First Nations.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.