Casino Projects in Phoenix Arizona Set for Possible Legislation Block

Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake put forward a bill that might see casino developments prohibited in Phoenix.

The Tohono O’odham Reservation planned to construct a gaming facility on unincorporated land near the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes Arena. However, now those efforts seem to be futile, as the two Senators assert that the Tohono O’odham Nation wants to build an Indian casino in a metropolitan area, according to gambling news.

Indian casino can be built “on lands not connected to an extant reservation,” said the two Senators. The tribe on the other hand believes they have the right to pursue their casino plans as initially intended. The tribe also highlighted that the Congress agreed to allow them to buy a total of 9,880 acres of replacement lands as recuperation for heavy floods in the 1980s.

SRPMIC President agrees with the Senators

Salt River Prima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) President Diane Enos supports the initiative set by Senators McCain and Flake, regarding US gambling laws. “This important legislation will reaffirm the tribal state gaming policy that was approved by the voters in Arizona in 2002.”

Enos also stressed an important point made previously by the Indian tribes. “A key element of the policy was that Indian tribes promised that there would be no additional casinos allowed in the Phoenix metropolitan area. This will stop additional county islands inside cities from becoming new casino reservations.”