In a decision announced at 7 p.m. last night, National Indian Gaming Commission Chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer said he will resign on Saturday. A Donald Trump appointee, Simermeyer had held office since November 2019.
In an interview with Yogonet published last Christmas Day, Simermeyer gave no hint of an impending departure. He said, “Over the next year, my focus will continue to be understanding how Indian gaming will evolve over time and what the Agency can provide to gaming tribes to help them sustain growth and protect the valuable resource tribal gaming represents for many communities.” He identified a continued emphasis on cybersecurity as key to this agenda.
The biggest challenge faced by Simermeyer during his four-year tenure was the pandemic, which shut down tribal casinos by the hundreds. Despite that setback, tribal-casino revenues recovered fully, achieving a record-high $40.9 billion in 2023.
A formal NIGC statement hailed Simermeryer for an “efficient and effective approach to regulation.” It also described his time in office as one in which “the agency took steps to grow its capacity to provide outreach, training and technical assistance to gaming tribes, notably formalizing its Environmental Public Health and Safely (EPHS) program to assist tribes with overall operational preparedness, and expanding the agency’s ability to provide cybersecurity technical assistance as the industry faced emerging threats from cybercrimes, including NIGC’s first Chief Information Security Officer.”
Other accomplishments lauded by the agency included the Cybersecurity Symposium and Anti-Money Laundering/Banking Security Act conference, which embraced multiple federal bureaus. Also noted was a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security on the Blue Campaign, which seeks to deter human trafficking.
According to the NIGC, during Simermeyer’s reign, it scored a 91 percent satisfaction rating from its employees, “making the NIGC one of the best places to work in the federal government.” The bureau called this “perhaps the most important” accomplishment of that era.
Simermeyer himself was quoted as saying, “I’ve witnessed firsthand how tribes across the Indian gaming industry have pursued economic sustainability through gaming by relying on — and cultivating — the robust regulatory reputation for which Indian gaming is well known, and made better when supported by effective and efficient measures by Indian gaming’s regulators. I’m 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.”
He concluded, “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.”
Simermeyer’s previous postings included the directorate of the Office of Self-Regulation and holding an associate commissioner’s rank at the NIGC. He didn’t say what his immediate plans were.
