Dean Rand Testifies at Gaming Commission Hearing

Sycuan Gaming Commission
Regulatory Fact Finding Hearing
May 6-8, 2009, Sycuan Reservation

In what may be the first hearing of its kind, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation's Gaming Commission held a three-day hearing at its casino near San Diego, California.

Dean Kathryn Rand was one of the Indian gaming experts invited by the Sycuan Gaming Commission to testify at the hearing. Other witnesses included tribal leaders from across the country, as well as state and tribal gaming regulators, industry and technology experts, and attorneys involved in game classification litigation.

The fact-finding hearing gathered information on Class II gaming, which includes the controversial so-called "bingo slots," electronic gaming devices that resemble slot machines but play a form of bingo. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes have primary regulatory jurisdiction over Class II gaming. Some state regulators and federal officials have said the bingo machines should be regulated as traditional slot machines, which require a tribal-state compact under IGRA. The hearing provided the Sycuan Gaming Commission with the most up-to-date information on the history of IGRA, tribal gaming regulations, court decisions, and evolving Class II technology.

Dean Rand testified on the history of IGRA and Congress's intent in regulating Class II gaming, alongside Franklin Ducheneaux, former attorney for Indian Affairs with the U.S. House Interior Committee, who is widely credited for his role in writing IGRA.