In a report issued at a recent event in Oklahoma, the American Gaming Association released a report developed by Alan Meister and Nathan Associates to gauge the economic impact of tribal gaming in the U.S. From the passage of the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the tribal gaming industry has grown from a small $121 million segment to an enormous $30 billion industry, responsible for 635,000 jobs, $33 billion in wages, $16 billion in taxes and direct payments to local, state and federal governments, and an overall annual economic impact of more than $96 billion. The chart below shows the impact on the various states.
