25 U.S.C. § 2702
Section 2702 · Declaration of policy
This is § 3 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 208 court decisions — leading case Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community (2014)
Most recently applied in Maverick Gaming LLC v. USA (December 2024)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 25 U.S.C. § 2710 · 25 U.S.C. § 2703 · 25 U.S.C. § 2701
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The purpose of this chapter is—
(1) to provide a statutory basis for the operation of gaming by Indian tribes as a means of promoting tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments;
(2) to provide a statutory basis for the regulation of gaming by an Indian tribe adequate to shield it from organized crime and other corrupting influences, to ensure that the Indian tribe is the primary beneficiary of the gaming operation, and to assure that gaming is conducted fairly and honestly by both the operator and players; and
(3) to declare that the establishment of independent Federal regulatory authority for gaming on Indian lands, the establishment of Federal standards for gaming on Indian lands, and the establishment of a National Indian Gaming Commission are necessary to meet congressional concerns regarding gaming and to protect such gaming as a means of generating tribal revenue.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 100–497, Oct. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 2467, known as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which is classified generally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2701 of this title and Tables.