US Indian gaming had another record year in FY25, but challenges lay ahead

US tribal casinos logged $46.2 billion in gross gaming revenue in fiscal year 2025, a new record and a 5% increase over the previous year, according to the latest annual report released Tuesday by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The NIGC’s report compiled results from 545 total facilities operated by some 250 tribes across 29 states. Including this latest result, Indian gaming has now set GGR records in every fiscal year since 2011, with the exception of 2020, when the Covid pandemic undercut performance.

“Indian gaming is an important contributor to tribal economies that empowers sovereign tribal governments to invest in their communities and provide their citizens with essential services,” NIGC Vice Chair Billy Kirkland said in a statement. “The Trump Administration is proud to work alongside tribal leaders to ensure these benefits endure for future generations.”

There are several federal agencies that are associated with Indian affairs, but the NIGC is the only such body dedicated solely to tribal gaming. That said, it’s been a touchy stretch for the commission, which has been without a confirmed chair or a full three-commissioner roster since February 2024, when longtime chairman Sequoyah Simermeyer stepped down to take a role at FanDuel.

Commissioner Sharon Avery served as acting chair in the interim, but returned to an associate role in January. Kirkland was sworn in to replace former vice chair Jeannie Hovland, who left the commission in April. US President Donald Trump has yet to nominate a new NIGC chair since taking office in January 2025. As a result, many in the industry have questioned the effectiveness of the commission, which closed seven regional offices around the country last November.

“These GGR results reflect the continued commitment of tribal regulators and operators to responsible growth and community benefit,” Avery said in a statement.

Growth in seven of eight regions

Broken down by region, seven of the eight geographic zones tracked by the NIGC registered YoY increases in FY25. The only laggard was the “Rapid City” region, which encompasses the Dakotas and surrounding areas, but its decline was less than 1% ($439.8 million).

The best-performing region, as per usual, was the “Sacramento” region, comprised of California and northern Nevada. That region’s GGR was a staggering $12. 6 billion, a 4% increase over the previous year. For comparison, the Las Vegas Strip posted GGR of $5.5 billion for the same period.

The second-best performing region was the “Washington, D.C.” region, which actually encompasses most the east coast from Florida up to North Carolina and New York. That area’s GGR was $11.2 billion, and that represented a 10% YoY increase, the biggest jump for any of the regions tracked by the commission.

Tribal hotspot Oklahoma is divided by the NIGC into two regions — the “Oklahoma City” region tracks western Oklahoma and Texas while the “Tulsa” region tracks eastern Oklahoma and Kansas. Both areas posted GGR of $3.7 billion, which represented a 3% increase for OKC and a 2.5% increase for Tulsa.

Other results were as follows:

• “St. Paul” region — MN, WI, IA, NE, MI, IN: $5.3 billion, +3%
• “Portland” region — OR, WA, ID, AK: $4.9 billion, +5%
• “Phoenix” region — AZ, CO, NM, southern NV: $4.2 billion, +5%

Indian Country wary of prediction markets

While the FY25 report again showed growth for Indian Country, the biggest and most pressing challenge is the rise of prediction markets — gaming tribes from around the US have united in their opposition to the controversial platforms, and this opposition has spilled into the courts.

So far, tribes in California, Wisconsin and New Mexico have filed lawsuits against prediction market operators, accusing them of violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and state gambling compacts. While prediction markets’ impact on tribal gaming has yet to appear in revenue data, industry leaders are warning about what the future may look like if nothing changes.

James Siva, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, said this week that the early belief is that prediction markets have siphoned about 5% of tribal gaming revenue since their rise, which began in earnest in late 2024 during that year’s presidential election. That falls about halfway through FY25, which still ended in a record sum. Regardless, Siva warned that those impacts will only continue to grow.

“If they are (allowed) to expand, we’re talking maybe we have a 25% gross gaming revenue loss within the next year,” Siva said, per the Journal Record. “Put it in Congressional numbers, that’s equivalent of defunding the BIA, the (Bureau of Indian Education) and Indian Health Services. That’s how much revenue that we all use to improve the lives of our citizens that is potentially leaving Indian country.”

Meanwhile, at a House subcommittee hearing on prediction markets on Tuesday, Indian Gaming Association Chairman David Bean decried the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a “one-person agency” that has been captured by private interests. The balanced hearing included testimony from a former CFTC general counsel.

“Thanks to a one-person agency, every teenager can now lose their shirt without leaving their dorm room,” Bean told lawmakers.