A study of land near Arizona’s tribal casinos finds that they are magnets for commercial development that is collateral to gaming.
According to the study by the Arizona Department of Gaming, the 24 casinos operated by 16 tribes generated $25 billion between 2004-2017. But that doesn’t take into account the commercial investments and developments that have sprung up because they want to be near the casinos.
As one example, the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise is busy building an expansion of its Desert Diamond West Valley Casino that will take two years to complete and will eventually have 3,000 permanent employees.
Such expansions in turn force other area casinos to expand in self-defense, which then attracts more ancillary developments and investments near reservations.
