Daniel Tucker is urging the tribes of California to ban together.  Tribal gaming is among one of the most important institutions to the tribes of California.  California has one of the biggest tribal gaming operations in the country.  Tucker is trying to impress upon other tribes that online casinos could lead to the end of tribal gaming in the state.

Tucker, the chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, rounded up California’s tribal gaming operators at the 15^th annual Western Indian Gaming Conference of California.  This years gathering was a little smaller than past years, no surprise as all gaming operators have had a very rough year.  However, online casinos were perhaps the most important talking point on the agenda.

It is no secret that Tucker feels like online casinos is the biggest threat to come along against tribal gaming in decades.  The threat became very real last year when the Morongo Band of Mission Indians attempted to team up with four California card rooms and lobby for legislation that would give them exclusive rights to offer online poker in the state.  Many tribes felt that particular partnership was dangerous and was inviting groups other than Indian tribes into the California gaming industry. 

Revenues from tribal casinos have traditionally gone to supporting the various tribes in California.  Tucker believes legalized online casinos will threaten the economic livelihood of tribes in the United States.  His goal is to organize the tribes and have them take a unified stand against regulating online casinos.