National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) Chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer will retire from that position after five years at the helm, the NIGC announced February 20.
His last day was February 24.
Simermeyer was appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2019, just in time to be thrust into leadership challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
During that trying period, the commission set conditions for the post-pandemic recovery. This eventually led to gross gaming revenues to bounce back to more than they were before the pandemic and set a new record last year of $40.9 billion.
Before being appointed chairman, Simermeyer was associate commissioner and director of the commission’s Office of Self-Regulation for four years.
Speaking of his tenure working with nearly 5,000 tribal regulators, the chairman said, “I’m proud of the integral part this Agency has played in meeting the challenges of an evolving industry, and encouraged that NIGC’s strong cadre of professionals will continue to work hand-in-hand with gaming operations to ensure tribal gaming remains primarily for the benefit of its citizens as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) mandated 35 years ago.”
When he took office, the chairman made strategic goals for industry integrity, preparedness, outreach and agency accountability. Plus expanding programs and services available to gaming tribes.
After formal consultation with tribes, the NIGC over the past three years published eight rules that reflected the changing industrial environment and best practices. The rules also gave more flexibility to tribes to pursue efficient practices.
Simermeyer led the way in collaborating with other federal agencies to help tribal gaming by founding the annual multiagency Cybersecurity Symposium, by sponsoring an Anti-Money Laundering/Banking Security Act regulatory training conference and partnering with the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign to fight human trafficking.
He also led the commission with IT security modernization to improve cybersecurity.
Simermeyer commented, “My time with NIGC has been some of the most memorable and impactful years of my career. As a Native person, I’m truly blessed to have been surrounded by experts dedicated to protecting and preserving the valuable resource Indian gaming represents for our communities.”
