Proposition 48 is not about Indian gaming, it is about a Nevada casino corporation (Station Casinos) trying to use a rural tribe to build a casino on off-reservation land in an urban area.  

Prop. 48  would ratify the first off-reservation gaming compacts between the state and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and the Wiyot Tribe to place a casino nearly 40 miles away from the tribe’s primary reservation.    

Proposition 48 breaks the promise that Pechanga and other tribes made when Indian gaming was overwhelmingly supported by California voters: that Indian gaming would be limited to Indian lands.  This is why we are voting NO on 48.   

“Prop. 48 is bad public policy for California families. It would be the first to break the promise made by tribes in 2000, with the passage of Prop. 1A, which confined Indian gaming to original reservation land only.  If passed, it would not be the last.”  

-    U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

The fact is that the North Fork Rancheria currently has land in trust that is eligible for gaming. That the land is not as commercially advantageous as a site closer to population centers is neither unique nor a compelling reason to break the commitment tribes made to the voters. 

Honoring the Trust

Newspapers across California urge a NO on 48:

“The North Fork compact departs from long-established precedent…The North Fork reservation is located in the Sierra National Forest, while the North Fork Rancheria Resort Hotel and Casino would be nearly 40 miles away, near the city of Madera, on Highway 99.  Prop. 48 not only would give the North Fork tribe the green light, it also would incentivize other as-yet-nongaming tribes to acquire land far from their reservations for purposes of building casinos.”

-    Riverside Press-Enterprise

“The parcel on which the casino is to be built is 38 miles away from the nearest North Fork Tribe property and was only acquired in 2012. If this project is allowed, it sets a precedent for ‘reservation shopping’ that could lead to a big influx of casino proposals on newly acquired land near heavily populated areas.”

-    U-T San Diego

“…one of the most audacious examples of ‘reservation shopping’ by a tribe that has partnered with a Las Vegas interest and made a sudden territorial claim on a plot of land that would be well positioned to draw gamblers.”

-    San Francisco Chronicle

“…the casino is a classic example of ‘reservation shopping’ and isn’t what voters intended when they approved Indian gaming.”

-    Fresno Bee

“The question for voters is how many other tribes will be looking to build off-site casinos if Prop. 48 succeeds. Our bet is: plenty.”

-    San Jose Mercury News