Expand Gambling on Indian Reservations HB 146

Montana Legislature alert. (I'll add this to all post that are very strictly about the Legislature for those not interested.)<br />nWith the Montana Legislature in session I have been paging through the <a href="http://laws.leg.mt.gov/pls/laws07/LAW0217W$BAIV.return_all_bills">bills proposed</a> and a few caught my eye. Here is one.<br />n<br />n<a href="http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2007/billhtml/HB0146.htm">HB 146</a><br />n<br />nExpand class III gambling on reservations<br />n<br />n<blockquote>(1) "Authorized class III games" means:<br />n<br />n (a) roulette;<br />n<br />n (b) craps;<br />n<br />n (c) slot machines as defined in 23-5-112;<br />n<br />n (d) blackjack or twenty-one; and<br />n<br />n (e) other house-banked card games commonly played.</blockquote><br />n<br />nTo start with, I am not a big fan of gambling. I know, every one out there is going to scream I am prejudiced against Indians since I am not a fan of gambling. I'm also a big believer that if people want to waste their money in a game of chance, that's their business, not mine. I know there are a lot of tribes out there making a lot of money on gaming, but I'm not sure if it's wise for Montana's tribes to be doing this. Who knows what kind of corruption and crime it will cause. <br />n<br />nIf that's what they want though, more power to them. I do kind of wonder if <strong>all</strong> tribes in Montana are for this proposal. It would be interesting to see if representatives from all tribes are at the hearing supporting this.<br />n<br />nHas yet to be referred to a Committee.