- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Gaming
Laguna Development Corporation, the Laguna Pueblo’s economic development arm, has joined advocacy group National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG) coalition.
The company is the first tribal enterprise to join NAAiG, a group of private operators, local governments and labor unions fighting online gaming’s rapid growth. Online gaming threatens brick-and-mortar casinos in states where it’s legal, potentially causing job losses and public health issues around gambling addiction, according to an NAAiG February report.
The move comes as tribal gaming operations posted record revenue of $43.9 billion in fiscal 2024, up 4.6% from the previous year, according to the National Indian Gaming Commission. The $2 billion increase marked the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking performance for the 532 tribal gaming operations across 29 states.
LDC President and CEO Maxine Velasquez said the company joined to protect its casino operations. LCD operates Casino Xpress, Dancing Eagle Casino and Route 66 Casino Hotel that employ 1,000 people across New Mexico.
“As a tribal enterprise, our success is directly tied to the communities we serve and the jobs we support,” Velasquez said in a statement. “We are joining NAAiG to make it clear that the voices and sovereign rights of tribal nations must not be ignored as the future of tribal gaming is shaped in this country.”
iGaming allows players to wager real money through geofenced mobile apps. It’s fully legal in seven states and generated roughly $8.41 billion in revenues in 2024, per an American Gaming report. The states are Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Nevada allows only online poker.
Private companies run online gambling in six states. Connecticut is the exception, where the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes operate online casinos alongside their physical properties. Their online gambling revenues reached $428.5 million in 2024, up 28% from $334.6 million in 2023, according to NAAiG.
Online gambling grew 28.7% last year, making it the fastest-growing sector in an overall $71.9 billion gaming market. Physical casinos grew just 0.8% but still generated $49.8 billion.
NAAiG found states that legalized online gambling saw physical casino revenue drop 15.8% on average, spurring job losses and reduced local spending.
Tribes are under-represented in the iGaming space and face risks from wider legalization, NAAiG found. Mark Stewart, an NAAiG board member, said the Laguna Development Corporation brought a “vital and authentic” voice to the group’s efforts.
“[LDC] understands firsthand how iGaming threatens more than jobs and revenue,” Stewart said in a statement. “It puts tribal sovereignty, cultural heritage and decades of hard-won investment in Native communities at risk.”
