Tribal governments forced to make budget cuts for services and healthcare. //end headline wrapper ?>Potawatomi Hotel and Casino. Photo courtesy of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
Wisconsin’s general fund received 80 percent less money from tribal gaming payments last year after the COVID-19 pandemic closed the doors of tribal casinos, according to a report released Thursday from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum. The state is expected to lose out on $70 million over 2020, 2021 and 2022.
But the report says the impact of casino closures on tribal governments will be far greater.
“Because casino revenues can make up the majority of some tribes’ budgets, substantial shortfalls have led to cuts in services such as health care,” according to the report. “Recent federal aid legislation will not necessarily offset all of these losses. Plummeting casino revenues also have wreaked havoc on casino workers and operations with ripple effects for local communities.”