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During these
turn of the
century years,
Wisconsin has come
to be distinguished as
the state that has
invited Native
American tribes to
establish new reservations
on lands that
were never traditional
lands of these individual
tribes. The simple
purpose of the new
reservations is quite
singular — to enable
these tribes to establish
gambling casinos.
The motivation for the
tribes to have new
casinos is also very obvious: the tribes stand
to
make a lot of money for tribal purposes and
also for individual members.
The motivation for the state to make an
almost blanket invitation for tribes to seek out
new lands for casino development is less
apparent. The establishment of Native
American casinos gives state governments
very limited opportunities for tax revenues.
Indeed, taxation of the Native American casinos,
as such, by states is prohibited by federal
law. However, by various subterfuges, funds
do come to the state. Nevertheless, as a factor
in state budgeting, the funds are negligible in
terms of importance, being but a very small
fraction of the funds provided by other similar
sources, such as the state lottery. Moreover,
the
State of Wisconsin
has not been unique
among states in its
budgetary situation.
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