I. General Overview of the Agency

The State Gaming Agency was established by executive order in August of 1995 to fulfill the State of Kansas' obligations under the tribal-state gaming compacts. These compacts were approved by the 1995 Kansas Legislature. The Tribal Gaming Oversight Act adopted by the 1996 Kansas Legislature officially established the State Gaming Agency and attaches the agency to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission for limited budget and personnel purposes. The mission of the State Gaming Agency is to enforce the tribal-state compacts, the Tribal Gaming Oversight Act and maintain the integrity of the Indian gaming operations established in Kansas.

The Tribal Gaming Oversight Act establishes an executive director as head of the agency. The executive director is appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Kansas Senate. At the present time the State Gaming Agency consists of twenty-one (21) full-time employee positions. The State Gaming Agency is funded through an assessment procedure set forth in the Tribal-State Compacts. Each of the Tribes operating a gaming facility in the State of Kansas is required to pay the reasonable and necessary costs of regulating done by the Kansas State Gaming Agency.

II. History of Indian Gaming

In 1988, the United States Supreme Court ruled the State of California did not have jurisdiction to prohibit Class III, casino gaming on Indian reservations. This decision held that the gaming issue was civil rather than criminal. This prohibited the State of California from attempting to restrict Indian gaming under the State criminal codes.

Following this decision, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). IGRA took effect in 1988 and delineated the rights of States and Native American tribes relative to the issue of casino gaming. Pursuant to IGRA, States can limit Native American Indian casinos to the type of gaming authorized by the State. Additionally, the tribes must negotiate a compact with the State regarding the scope of authorized gaming and the State's role in Indian gaming. IGRA also set guidelines governing the types of compacts which could be negotiated.

IGRA authorizes the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to oversee certain aspects of Indian Gaming. NIGC has established guidelines for background investigations on employees and companies doing business with the Indian Gaming facility.

IGRA also sets minimum requirements regarding what land can be used for Class III gaming and at what locations said gaming can occur. Additionally, IGRA required the States to negotiate compacts in good faith. IGRA authorizes a federal lawsuit to force a State to negotiate a compact. (Since approval of the Kansas tribal compacts, the United States Supreme Court has determined that a State cannot be sued in federal court to force compact negotiations.)

Following the creation of IGRA, the four Native American tribes in Kansas began negotiating with the State of Kansas for an approved compact. Governor Finney signed the first compact. Attorney General Bob Stephan filed a lawsuit against Governor Finney asserting she did not have the authority to enter a compact on behalf of the State of Kansas without the Legislature's approval. The Kansas Supreme Court agreed with the Attorney General.

After the Supreme Court's decision the four Native American tribes again began the process of negotiating compacts with the State of Kansas. During the 1995 legislative session a compact for each of the four tribes was approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Graves.

After the Governor signed the compacts, they were forwarded to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for federal approval. By October of 1995, all four compacts had been approved by the BIA.

The first Native American Indian casino opened on May 18, 1996 on the Kickapoo Reservation 6 miles west of Horton. It is called the Golden Eagle Casino. On October 25, 1996 the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe opened its temporary casino on its reservation, just south of Mayetta, Kansas. The Potawatomi in conjunction with Harrah's has opened a new $37 million casino and hotel on January 13, 1998. It is located a few miles farther south of Mayetta, Kansas, just off of Highway 75, 20 minutes north of Topeka. This replaced their temporary casino. The Sac & Fox Tribe opened their casino on February 26, 1997 on Highway 75 north of Topeka in Brown County, Kansas. The Iowa Tribe opened a temporary gaming facility on May 20, 1998. On December 15, 1998, their permanent casino, Casino White Cloud, was opened 3 1/2miles N of White Cloud. This also replaced their temporary casino.

III. Agency Duties

The compacts with the tribes require the State Gaming Agency to conduct a background investigation on all gaming employees, gaming service providers and consultants. Previously this was done through a combination of investigators from this agency and investigators employed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI).  Currently, the State Gaming Agency performs these background investigations.

Each of the tribes establishing a gaming facility is required to have a tribal gaming commission. The commission is responsible for all licensing decisions and for the regulation of the gaming facility. The commission is required to have at least one inspector in the casino performing regulatory duties at all times when the gaming facility is open. At the present time, the Sac & Fox Casino (Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas & Nebraska), the Golden Eagle Casino (Kickapoo) and Harrah's Prairie Band Casino (Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation) are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The State Gaming Agency monitors the licensing process and all regulatory functions performed by the tribal gaming commissions.  The tribal gaming commissions develop the internal controls which regulate procedures used and the actions of all employees in the gaming facility. The compacts establish guidelines for the information contained in the background investigations.

The work of the State Gaming Agency is challenging and not in the realm of the normal law enforcement agency's duties. The agency acts as the State's representative when dealing with the various tribes. Under federal law these tribes are viewed as sovereign nations. They have elected tribal governments which run the tribes. However, Kansas criminal law applies on these Indian lands.

The background investigation performed on all State Gaming Agency employees includes a thorough review and investigation of the following areas:

*  Criminal Arrest, convictions or investigations

*  Civil and bankruptcy cases

*  Indictments or grand jury investigations

*  Neighborhood investigations

*  Credit investigation

*  Review of tax records, banking records and all financial data

*  Employment investigations

*  Drug, alcohol problems and/or treatment

*  Gambling problems and/or treatment

*  Reference checks

*  Family associations

*  Organized crime connections

*  Gaming Licenses'

*  Driver's license check

*  Other areas of concern arising during the investigation

The successful completion of a satisfactory background investigation is mandatory for employment with the State Gaming Agency.

Pursuant to Kansas law an employee of the State Gaming Agency cannot gamble in any tribal casino located within the State of Kansas.  Employees of the State Gaming Agency have access to confidential information in the form of background investigations. It is a violation of Kansas law to disclose information contained in those investigations to others who are not set forth in Kansas law.