According to Congress, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was created in 1988 as a way to help tribes get below the poverty level. The goal of IGRA is to use gaming as a means to “[promote] tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governance,” while ensuring that gaming is conducted fairly and honestly. Since its founding, hundreds of tribes have been able to negotiate an agreement with governments to operate casinos on reservations (“Gaming Tax Law and Bank Secrecy Act Issues for Indian Tribal Government”). Although Congress claims that the true purpose of IGRA is to allow Indians to open casinos, it is simply a set of laws that limit the tribe's right to gamble. Views of IGRA differ among Native Americans and non-Natives. For many Americans, IGRA is a compromise between the U.S. government and tribal government because it allows tribes to support themselves while fulfilling Congress' intent to open more jobs to control poverty-related crimes. According to a survey conducted by the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) in 2006, as many as 75% of Americans believe that Indians benefit from gaming (The Economic Impact of Indian Gaming in 2006). “The federal National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) reported that the Indian gaming industry generated $16.7 billion in revenue in 2003” and created over 550,000 jobs (Light and Rand, 85). Even if there is only a small change in the number of crimes due to casinos, it is enough to conclude that “crime rates have been reduced, but not overwhelmingly” (Light and Rand, 97). In contrast, Native Americans believe that these are “unilateral negotiations” that give power to the state and federal government… middle of paper… and the type of gaming tribes they can lead, IGRA also establishes a rule on how tribes should use their gaming profits. Tribes may spend gaming proceeds for only five general purposes: to fund tribal government services, operations and programs, to promote general tribal welfare, to promote tribal economic development, to make charitable donations, and to help fund local government agencies (The Economic Impact of Indian Games in 2006). They are also required to pay taxes as a condition of the intertribal-state compact. Most payouts are based on percentage of game revenue. In 2003, California tribes paid anywhere from zero to 13 percent of slot revenue based on the number of slot machines. In New York, tribes start paying at 18% and in just seven years increase to 25%. In 2003, tribes paid, in total, about $759 million to state and local governments