With a $6.03 million payout, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe led other tribes in 2018 revenue sharing payments to central Michigan governments, according to Michigan Gaming Control Board figures. The Saginaw tribe’s payment, operators of casinos in Mount Pleasant and Standish, topped the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, which in 2018 paid out $5.7 million, its lowest payment in seven years.
Payouts represent 2 percent of gross revenue from electronic gaming and are made in place of paying local taxes to Indian casino host governments. A total of $30.1 million in casino revenue sharing payments from 12 Michigan tribes was distributed during fiscal 2018, according to gaming board figures. Overall, revenue sharing increased 0.87 percent from 2017.
Second to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe was the Potwatomi’s $5.7 million, followed by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians’ $5.74 million.
Since 1994, Michigan tribes that operate casinos have generated more than $497 million in revenue sharing payments for local units of government and revenue sharing boards.
