The Wind River Indian Reservation is for all practical purposes a sovereign nation within the borders of Wyoming. The two tribes who occupy the reservation - the Northern Arapaho and the Eastern Shoshone - have their own court system for all but the most serious crimes, manage their own social welfare system, impose their own taxes, and provide other programs and services.

The relationship between the tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation and the State of Wyoming is tricky - and sometimes rocky. There is not always agreement about which government has jurisdiction over what activities. In addition, as trustee for the tribes, the federal government plays a significant role.

One activity in dispute is gambling. A number of tribes, with the acquiesence of the federal government, run some type of gambling operations on their lands.

SF 106 proposed to allow certain types of gambling solely within the confines of the Reservation, pursuant to a gaming compact to be negotiated between Wyoming and either or both of the Wind River Indian Reservation tribes.

SF 106 also provided the gaming compact would include provisions transferring a portion of the gambling revenues to Wyoming’s School Foundation Program.

Wyoming statutes currently prohibit gambling except for charity (e.g., church bingo). Proposals to allow various forms of gambling, including a state lottery, have met with spirited debate - and defeat (sometimes narrow) - in past Legislatures. At the 1994 general election, voters turned down a ballot initiative which would have allowed local option gambling.

Proponents of the bill argued it would help reduce unemployment and poverty and promote economic growth and self-sufficiency on the Wind River Indian Reservation, where economic conditions are generally poor.

Opponents brought up the deleterious social impacts of gambling and the voters’ reluctance to permit it. They also argued that it is wrong to hold out the hope of income that is not earned.

SF 106 went down on a close vote in the Senate, 14-16.