COVID Outbreaks Occurring at Tribal Casinos in California

There have been six outbreaks of gambling-related illnesses at tribal casinos in Riverside County in the last six months. The non-tribal casinos and cardrooms in California were closed last week. Hawaiian Gardens declared a fiscal emergency in August because of the Casino. Inglewood, Commerce and Bell Gardens are in a similar situation. Their casinos provide over 20 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent of their budget funds. Cardrooms have stricter health and occupancy rules than the tribes.

The state ordered the Garden Casino outdoor operations closed last week. The casinos are sovereign and do not have to report COVID cases. Some casinos have scheduled outdoor concerts. Non-tribal casinos report everything to the county. CDC recommends not using masks at table games. The non-Tribals report all their cases to county, but they are closed down. They use the same protocols used by non Tribal casinos. There are six outbreaks recorded at casinos in the last five months. Five casinos had one outbreak, while a fifth casino had two. One official stated that open indoor casinos could increase the number of cases of COVIIDS.