Tribal Gaming Regulator Enters Seventh Month With No Chair and No Enforcement Actions

The National Indian Gaming Commission is in its seventh month without a chairperson, and the gap is starting to show in the tribal gambling sector it oversees.

Sharon Avery, the last acting chair, stepped down in January when her term expired. The post is filled by presidential nomination and Senate confirmation, and that process has dragged for months. The White House called the NIGC a valued board but did not say when a nomination would come.

The structural problem is that the commission places all executive power with its chair. The NIGC brings enforcement action against tribes found in breach of gaming compacts and signs off on critical business deals, covering roughly 250 tribal governments and more than 500 gambling facilities. Its last enforcement action was in January, when the chair left. The organisation says it continues to regulate effectively.

Stalled deals are the visible cost. A new Harrah's casino operated by the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma cannot outsource its staffing because that requires the chair's approval, so the property is running at reduced effectiveness and losing revenue.

Some believe the delay is political. The NIGC has been an outspoken critic of prediction markets and its chair is tasked with defending tribal interests, which sits awkwardly with the Trump administration's support for the sector, particularly after several tribes challenged Kalshi and Robinhood in federal court. The sector is pushing the other way at the same time, with Novig suing New York this week to pre-empt state enforcement.

"At this crucial time, the NIGC is operating with one arm tied behind its back," said former NIGC chair Jonodev Chaudhuri. "That's a very precarious position for tribes and Indian gaming."

Tribes are growing impatient, with the concern that a leaderless regulator hurts gaming revenues that fund community services, and that venues needing oversight stay open without it.