National Indian Gaming Commission

Annual Report

Fiscal Year 2021
NIGC Annual Report 

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Chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer and Vice Chair Jeannie Hovland

From the Commission

We are pleased to present the National Indian Gaming Commission fiscal year 2021 

Annual Report (October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021). The purpose of the 2021 

Annual Report is to provide an overview of agency activity, accomplishments and

initiatives of our agency and to inform the public on how the Agency is achieving its 

statutory mandates by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to promote tribal 

economic development and self-sufficiency; maintain the integrity of the Indian 

gaming industry; and ensure that Tribes are the primary beneficiaries of their gaming 

activities. Through this annual report, the Commission displays the achievements of 

this past year and the day-to-day accomplishments in fully realizing the purposes of 

the IGRA.
NIGC Annual Report 

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Strategic Plan

The NIGC continued implementing the 

Commission’s five primary goals outlined 

in the 2018 Strategic Plan consisting of: (1) 

protecting against gamesmanship; (2) 

maintaining a strong workforce both within 

the agency as well as with NIGC’s tribal 

regulatory partners; (3) leveraging reliable 

and emerging industry technology trends to 

support tribal economic development and 

self-sufficiency; (4) developing and 

executing a rural outreach plan; and (5) 

achieving operational excellence. 

The NIGC strategic plan is located on the 

NIGC website at 

https://www.nigc.gov/commission/strategicplan.

The strategic plan is an outline to guide the 

agency in its daily responsibilities to protect 

the integrity of Indian gaming. The NIGC 

continues to review its strategic objectives 

and strategies to ensure it reflects the NIGC’s 

continued commitment to regulatory 

compliance and gaming integrity. The NIGC 

is currently in the process of implementing its 

strategic plan for 2022-2026. In addition to 

the strategic plan, the Agency focused its 

work in four areas: Industry Integrity, 

Agency Accountability, Preparedness and 

Outreach. 

Outreach 

The Commission initiated a three-part 

consultations series and held Series A and B 

with tribes in FY2021 on potential regulatory 

and policy changes. Series C will be held during 

FY2022. The consultation efforts will bring 

more certainty to Agency policy, identify 

flexibilities in Agency operations beneficial to 

the NIGC and the tribal stakeholders. 

The NIGC initiated and engaged in key outreach 

efforts throughout FY2021, focusing its training 

activities and agency resources by identifying 

partnerships, improving training offerings, and 

utilizing technology to enhance outreach to 

intended audiences. 

The Commission completed 48 training events:

2 National Virtual Training Conferences

10 National Training Topic of the Month

12 Professional organization events

11 Site-specific training

1 CJIS Symposium

1 Human Trafficking outreach

6 Employee training events

These events provided instruction to 29,303 

individuals including tribal stakeholders and 

NIGC employees. 
NIGC Annual Report 

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Table of Contents

National Indian Gaming Commission ............................................................................................ 1

Letter from the Commission.................................................................................................. 2

About the NIGC ......................................................................................................................... 6

Office of General Counsel.......................................................................................................... 8

Key Accomplishments........................................................................................................... 8

1. Consultation Series A, B, and C................................................................................... 8

2. Bulletin issuance........................................................................................................... 8

3. Declination Letter review ............................................................................................. 8

4. Game opinions.............................................................................................................. 8

5. Indian lands opinions.................................................................................................... 9

6. Self-Regulation Petitions assisted with 1 ..................................................................... 9

7. Management contracts.................................................................................................. 9

8. Ysleta del Sur, et al v. Texas CVSG............................................................................. 9

9. NIGC’s Fingerprint processing MOU .......................................................................... 9

Division of Compliance ............................................................................................................. 9

Key Accomplishments........................................................................................................... 9

1. COVID-19 Pandemic Response ................................................................................. 10

2. Cybersecurity Preparedness and Response................................................................. 10

3. Letters of Concern ...................................................................................................... 10

4. Audit Waivers............................................................................................................. 10

5. Networking with Other Governmental Agencies....................................................... 10

6. Site Visits.................................................................................................................... 11

7. Technical Assistance .................................................................................................. 11

8. Background/Licensing................................................................................................ 11

9. Investigations.............................................................................................................. 11

Audit Program.......................................................................................................................... 11

Training Program ..................................................................................................................... 13

Division of Finance .................................................................................................................. 14

Key Accomplishments......................................................................................................... 14

1. FY21 Key Statistics.................................................................................................... 14

2. Gross Gaming Revenue analysis and announcement................................................. 14

3. Fee rate and fingerprint processing fee analysis and announcement.......................... 14
NIGC Annual Report 

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4. Pay.Gov ...................................................................................................................... 15

5. Agency’s budget......................................................................................................... 15

Accounting Service Group .................................................................................................. 16

Financial Service Group ...................................................................................................... 16

Background Investigation Group......................................................................................... 16

Division of Public Affairs........................................................................................................ 17

Key Accomplishments......................................................................................................... 17

1. Email Correspondence Data ....................................................................................... 17

2. Virtual Employee Retreat ........................................................................................... 17

3. Internal Intranet Growth ............................................................................................. 17

4. Social Media Growth.................................................................................................. 17

5. Top 5 Videos .............................................................................................................. 17

6. YouTube Data breakdown.......................................................................................... 18

Division of Technology............................................................................................................ 18

Key Accomplishments......................................................................................................... 18

1. Successful Procurement for technology initiatives .................................................... 18

2. Fingerprint Modernization.......................................................................................... 18

3. IT Support................................................................................................................... 18

4. IT Audits..................................................................................................................... 19

5. Established Tech Alert’s Page on NIGC Website ...................................................... 19

6. Privacy Program formalized....................................................................................... 19

Information Technology and Support Program ....................................................................... 19

Information Technology (IT) Audit Program .......................................................................... 19

Records and Information Management (RIM) Program.......................................................... 19
NIGC Annual Report 

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About the NIGC

The National Indian Gaming Commission was created in 1988 with the passage of the Indian 

Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which was enacted to support and promote tribal economic 

development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments through the operation of gaming on 

Indian lands. The Act provides a statutory basis for the federal regulation of Indian gaming. IGRA 

establishes the Commission to regulate and support tribal gaming as a means of generating revenue 

for tribal communities. See 25 U.S.C. § 2704.

The Commission consists of three full-time members, including a Chair and two Associate 

Commissioners. The Chair is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The two 

Associate Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. The Commission selects a 

Vice Chair by a majority vote. At least two members of the Commission must be members of a 

federally recognized Indian Tribe and only two may be of the same political party.

The National Indian Gaming Commission is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities by:

• regulating and monitoring certain aspects of Indian gaming;

• coordinating its regulatory responsibilities with tribal, state and federal regulatory 

agencies;

• providing training and technical assistance to tribal regulatory agencies and operations;

• reviewing and approving tribal gaming ordinances and management agreements;

• reviewing the backgrounds of individuals and entities to ensure the suitability. of those 

seeking to manage or invest in Indian gaming;

• overseeing and reviewing the conduct and regulation of Indian gaming operations;

• enforcing violations against the IGRA and its regulations; and referring criminal matters 

to appropriate tribal, federal, and state entities.
NIGC Annual Report 

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Organization Structure

The National Indian Gaming Commission is comprised of a Chair, appointed by the 

President and confirmed by the Senate, and two additional commissioners appointed by the 

Secretary of the Interior. The NIGC’s organizational structure is composed of two main 

branches, the Office of General Counsel which handles legal affairs, and the Office of the 

Chief of Staff, which manages day-to-day activities and includes the Division of Compliance, 

Division of Finance, Division of Public Affairs, Division of Technology and Administrative 

support functions. 
NIGC Annual Report 

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Fiscal Year 2021 Accomplishments

Office of General Counsel

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is led by the General Counsel and two Associate 

General Counsel(s). The Office of General Counsel serves as the legal staff of the National 

Indian Gaming Commission. The OGC represents the Chair and the 

Commission in all agency matters, including providing the Commission and its staff with 

legal advice on the agency’s activities, coordinating litigation with the Department of Justice 

and other agencies, reviewing tribal ordinances and management contracts, and providing 

counsel on other matters that arise as the NIGC fulfills its regulatory mission. The OGC also 

provides legal opinions to tribal gaming industry stakeholders on a variety of issues, 

including Indian lands, game classification, and whether a particular agreement implicates 

management. 

 Key Accomplishments

1. Consultation Series A, B, and C

• Identified numerous agency regulations for consultation.

• Prepared draft changes to proposed regulatory changes

• Participated in Consultations, reviewed comments, and prepared 

summaries of comments reviewed and NPRMs for Commission 

consideration.

2. Bulletin issuance*

• No. 2021-3 (Submission of Agreements for Review)

• No. 2021-4 (Submission of Loan Documents and Financing 

Agreements for Review)

• No. 2021-5 (Submission of Sports Book Agreements for Review)

• No. 2021-6 (Sole Proprietary Interest)

*All issued on October 5, 2021

3. Declination Letter review 

The OGC reviews certain agreements to determine whether or not the agreements 

constitute a management contract requiring the approval of the NIGC Chair. The 

OGC also reviews certain agreement to determine whether they violate the sole 

proprietary interest mandate of IGRA. Such legal opinions are more commonly 

referred to as “declination letters.” 

• 74 Declination letters issued

4. Game opinions
NIGC Annual Report 

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The OGC receives requests for legal opinions on other matters, such as whether 

certain lands are Indian lands eligible for gaming under IGRA or whether a 

specific game is considered class II or class III gaming.

• 2 game opinions issued

5. Indian lands opinions

Indian lands advisory opinions are issued by the NIGC and the Department of the 

Interior regarding whether a tribe may game on certain lands.

• 2 Indian lands opinions issued

6. Self-Regulation Petitions assisted with 1

• self-regulation petition review

7. Management contracts

• assisted with 9 (3 closed; 6 open)

8. Ysleta del Sur, et al v. Texas CVSG

Worked with the Solicitor General’s Office, Department of Justice and the 

Department of the Interior on this matter before the United States Supreme Court 

Assisted in updating various Agency policies and procedures;

9. NIGC’s Fingerprint processing MOU 

Assisted and advised on updating the NIGC’s Fingerprint processing MOU to 

ensure compliance with the FBI’s CHRI requirements.

Division of Compliance

The Division of Compliance is led by the Chief Compliance Officer, Deputy Chief 

Compliance Officer, and Deputy Assistant Chief Compliance Officer and consists of eight 

(8) regional offices and the Audit Program. The Division of Compliance monitors 

compliance of tribal gaming operations in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory 

Act by working closely with the more than 5,000 tribal regulators. 

Compliance is monitored through tracking, training, audit, site-visits, observation and 

reporting in conjunction with established relationships with our fellow regulatory partners. 

The Division develops training materials, provides technical assistance and training, conducts 

site visits, performs investigations, compiles yearly Gross Gaming Revenues from submitted 

audited financials, reviews Agreed Upon Procedures (AUP) audits and performs Internal 

Control Assessments (ICA). The Compliance Division also works with other NIGC 

Divisions, the Office of General Counsel, and the Chair when enforcement is required under 

IGRA.

Key Accomplishments
NIGC Annual Report 

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1. COVID-19 Pandemic Response

The Division, in concert with the other NIGC Divisions and OGC, developed 

resource documents and training for internal and external stakeholders.

Key resources include: COVID-19 Frequently Ask Questions, a model Infectious 

Disease Preparedness and Response Plan, gaming facility re-opening checklists 

and assessments, and COVID-19 specific virtual Emergency Preparedness Health 

and Safety training. Collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 

and the Indian Health Service (IHS) in reviewing and developing the NIGC’s 

COVID resources throughout the pandemic. 

2. Cybersecurity Preparedness and Response

In FY21, gaming tribes reported eight separate cyber-attacks affecting tribal 

gaming operations, tribal gaming regulatory authorities or other tribal systems. The 

Division works in partnership with the Division of Technology to track, respond, 

provide technical assistance and document compliance with 

NIGC minimum internal control standards and other guidelines related to 

information technology and cyber security.

3. Letters of Concern 

Prior to the Chair taking an enforcement action, a letter of concern may be 

provided by NIGC staff, detailing concerns regarding compliance with the Act, 

this chapter, or any tribal ordinance or resolution approved by the Chair. A letter of 

concern describes the available facts and information, includes a preliminary 

assessment regarding the incident or condition, and indicates that it may be a 

violation. A letter of concern will provide a time period for the respondent to 

respond. If the letter of concern is resolved without enforcement action, NIGC 

staff may send a letter of concern satisfaction letter. See 25 C.F.R. Part 573.2

The Division issued seven Letters of Concern in FY21 to address serious noncompliance issues. Five outstanding Letters of Concern from FY20 were resolved 

and closed during FY21 as well as two FY21 Letters of Concern. 

4. Audit Waivers

IGRA and the NIGC regulations require tribes to conduct annual audits of each 

gaming operation and submit the results of those audits to the Commission. 

However, an operation with less than $2 million in gross gaming revenues may 

satisfy the annual audit requirement by (1) submitting reviewed financial 

statements and (2) either the operation submitted financial statements to the 

Commission for the past three years in accordance with 25 C.F.R. § 571.13, or the 

Commission issues a waiver to the operation to submit reviewed financials. 

Compliance collaborated with OGC in the streamlining, preparation and issuance 

of five audit waivers for FY21.

5. Networking with Other Governmental Agencies
NIGC Annual Report 

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The Division continued to maintain regular communication with Federal Bureau of 

Investigations (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Bureau of Indian Affairs

(BIA) and their law enforcement, the United States Attorney’s Offices, Indian 

Health Services (IHS) and the Centers on Disease Control (CDC) to share trends / 

BOLO information and enhance working relationships.

6. Site Visits

As part of the Region Offices Annual Compliance Plan, site visits are conducted at 

gaming operations and with tribal gaming regulatory authorities. Due to COVID19 travel restrictions, the Regions conducted 471 remote/virtual site visits, 54 

internal audit checklists, and 258 licensing reviews. The Regions conducted 130 

remote/virtual Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) audits. 

7. Technical Assistance

Region Office staff provide technical assistance to tribes, operation staff and 

TGRAs through in person meetings, phone calls, emails and letters of technical 

assistance. For FY21, the Regions recorded 2,387 such events for a total of 1,172 

hours in technical assistance provided.

8. Background/Licensing

Region Offices successfully completed the following actions in FY21: 

FY21 Licensing Actions

Deficiency Letter 151 

Fingerprint Cards from the FBI 54,124 

Fingerprint Cards to the FBI 54,135 

Licensed by Tribe 32,715 

Name Check to FBI 119 

Name Check from FBI 1 

No Objection LTR Sent 37,046 

NOR Received 38,630 

Not Licensed by Tribe 6,075 

Objected 7 

Renewal Notification 13,670

9. Investigations

The Division undertook six investigations and twelve preliminary investigations 

in FY21. 

Audit Program 

The Audit Program within the Division of Compliance is composed of an Audit Manager, 

two Supervisory Auditors and Auditors. Audit staff are stationed throughout the Regions. 

The Audit Program is responsible for audits and assessments, training, review and 

compilation of annual audited financial statements and agreed upon procedure reports, 

investigations and special assignments. 
NIGC Annual Report 

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The Audit Program worked on and/or completed 42 reviews and evaluations: 

• 1 Internal Control Assessment

• 2 Internal Audit Reviews

• 8 Investigative Audits

• 1 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Audit Review

• 12 Internal Control Assessment Follow-ups (including Rural Internal Control 

Assessments)

• 1 Internal Audit Review Follow-up

• 1 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Audit Review Follow-up 

• 14 Site Visit Assistance events for a total of 4,752 hours worked.

Summary of Fiscal Year 2021 Compliance Activity

Overall Summary FY2021 FY2020

Site Visits 471 250

Internal Audit Checklists 54 47

Licensing Reviews 258 155

CJIS Audits 130 55

Total Licensing Submissions 236,673 222,530

Open Investigations 6 12

Preliminary Investigations 12 20

Closed Investigations 7 8

Enforcement Actions 0 0

Criminal Referrals 2 4

Letters of Concern Issued 7 7

Letters of Concerned Closed 7 2

New Settlement Agreements 1 0

Settlement Agreements Monitored 7 7

Technical Assistance Events 2,387 1,768

Technical Assistance Hours 1171 972

AUPs Received and Reviewed 405 404

AFSs Received and Reviewed 524 521

Audit Waivers Processed 2 3

Internal Control Assessments Completed 1 4

Internal Control Assessment Follow Ups 12 40

Internal Audit Reviews (IAR) 2 2

Investigative Audits 8 2

GAAP Review (GAR) 1 1

Internal Audit Review Follow up 1 1

GAAP Audit Review Follow up 1 1
NIGC Annual Report 

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Training Program

During FY21, the Training Program was transferred to the Division of Public Affairs to 

better align with agency resources and organization structure. The Training Program is led by 

the Training Manager, who is supported by Training Specialists and a Training 

Coordinator. The Training Program coordinates, organizes, provide support and tracks all 

training both internally and externally for the Agency. 

The Training Program, in coordination with the Commission, Offices and Divisions offered 

48 training events, proposed, and coordinated presentations at 12 association conferences and 

trade shows, hosted two National Virtual Training Conferences, 11 site specific training 

events, 1 CJIS Symposium, 1 fingerprint video, and 6 employee training sessions. The 

Training Program administrates the learning management system for security awareness 

training and local area security officer training for our criminal justice information services 

thru a third-party vendor. Additionally, the Training Program administers and manages the 

learning management system for internal training thru DOI TALENT. The results of all 

instruction resulted in a combined total of 29,303 individual attendees across all courses and 

presentations.

In addition to the external & internal trainings the Training Program with cooperation of the 

Division of Public Affairs, recorded all trainings and hosted them on a secured YouTube 

platform for additional viewing. There are currently 58 recorded training session on this 

platform which have received an additional 549 views. Pre-recorded training sessions can be 

found on the NIGC webpage at https://www.nigc.gov/compliance/recorded-training-sessionrequest-forms

Summary of Fiscal Year 2021 Training and Outreach Events

# of 

events Type of Event Combined Attendance

NIGC 

Employee 

Attendance

Total

2

National Multi-Day Virtual 

Conference 7774 752 8526

10 Training Topic of the Month 3582 236 3818

11 Site Specific Training 77 77

3 Boot Camps 5990 265 6255

12 Industry Organizations & 

Associations 1553 8 1561

1 CJIS Symposium 5099 511 5610

1 Human Trafficking Outreach 172 15 187

1 CJIS Security 2330 119 2449

1

NIGC Fingerprint Instructional 

Video 517 32 549

48 Totals 27094 2209 29303
NIGC Annual Report 

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Division of Finance

The Division of Finance is led by the Chief Financial Officer. The Division handles the 

Commissions fiscal and budgetary matters, supports the agency’s day-to-day accounting and 

financial activities, reviews management agreements, and conducts background 

investigation. The Division is located at the NIGC headquarters office in Washington, DC 

and performs the following key tasks as part of the NIGC’s statutory and regulatory duties. 

Key Accomplishments

1. FY21 Key Statistics

• 910 fee payment checks were processed in FY21. 

• 725 fee submissions were received and processed through Pay.gov, which 

represents a 13% increase over the 641 fee submissions processed through 

Pay.gov in FY20. The submission of fee payments via Pay.gov continued to grow 

since it became available in 2014. 

• 1,440 fingerprint payment checks were received and processed in FY21. 

• Five new contract/amendment submissions were received, 1 management contract 

was completed and approved, 3 were on hold, and 7 were in varying stages of 

review in FY21.

• 15 Interagency Agreements (IAA) and 10 Purchase Orders (PO) were reviewed, 

processed, and awarded.

• 20 applications for background investigations were received in FY21, including 

16 individuals and 4 entities.

• 16 investigations (12 individual and 4 entities) were completed, and 5 applications 

were withdrawn during the investigation process in FY21.

2. Gross Gaming Revenue analysis and announcement 

The Division analyzes the Indian gaming industry’s gross gaming revenues submitted 

on the gaming operation’s annual audited financial statements, summarizes the data, 

prepares key graphics depicting the results and trending, and presents to the 

Commission on an annual basis. 

The final FY20 gross gaming revenue information was released via tele-conferencing 

on August 17, 2021. The industry’s FY20 GGR of $27.8 billion was down 19.5% 

from FY19’s GGR of $34.6 billion.

3. Fee rate and fingerprint processing fee analysis and announcement

Finance Division analyzes the agency’s carryover balance, annual operating budget 

requirement, and the gross gaming revenue trending, to calculate the annual fee rate. 

In addition, the staff reviews annually the costs involved in processing fingerprint 

cards and calculates a fee based on fees charged by the Federal Bureau of 
NIGC Annual Report 

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Investigation and costs incurred by the Commission including agency personnel, 

supplies, equipment costs, and postage to submit the results to the requesting tribe.

As a result of the FBI fingerprint audit, the agency’s overhead costs associated with 

processing fingerprint in FY21 changed significantly comparing to previous years. 

FY21 fingerprint processing fee increased from $22 to $45 per card as a result of 

updating the agency’s fingerprint system/network equipment and additional measures 

necessary to ensure compliance with FBI’s audit requirements. FY21 final 

fingerprint process fee was announced on 11/13/2020.

FY21 fee rate analysis was completed in a timely manner and announced on 

11/30/2020. The fee rate remained the same at 0.062% for FY21. 

4. Pay.Gov

Finance Division initiated the fingerprint online payment project (Pay.gov) with the 

Treasury, led the discussion with the agency’s executive leadership, completed the 

necessary paperwork, and submitted to the Treasury in FY21. The project is 

expected to be completed in FY22 (pending Treasury’s resource availability).

5. Agency’s budget

The Division kicks off the agency-wide internal budgeting process by preparing and 

distributing the budget templates to each functional area within the agency in the 

beginning of summer each year. Finance staff provides agency staff with 

instructions/answers questions, reviews/analyzes submissions, corrects errors, 

consolidates/summarizes the proposed budget from each functional area, and presents 

the final results to the Commission for review/approval. FY22 budget process was 

completed and approved by the Commission on September 30, 2021 before the 

beginning of the new fiscal year. Below is the chart illustrating the components of 

the Commission’s FY21 budget:

Payroll/Burden

73%

Travel

2%

Rent & Security

8%

Communications

2%

IAA/Vendor Contracts

8%

Capital Expenditures

6% All Others 

1%

FY21 Budget
NIGC Annual Report 

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To assist tribal leaders with understanding how the agency is balancing its 

responsibilities, the Finance Division assisted the Commission to hold periodic 

presentation sessions on its operations and provided opportunities for tribal feedback 

on the NIGC’s budget objectives starting with the FY21 NIGC budget. This new 

outreach effort has helped to communicate and explain the impacts of how the NIGC 

is managing ongoing uncertainty for the pandemic and addressing emerging needs. In 

FY21, there were two Operational Briefing to Tribal Leaders completed: 3/18/2021 

live conference and 9/21/2021 video presentation.

In addition, the Finance staff works with DOI and OMB on the preparation and 

completion of the agency’s Budget Justification as part of the annual President’s 

Budget process. The NIGC Budget Justifications and Performance Information for 

Fiscal Year 2022 was cleared by DOI/ OMB and subsequently published to the 

general public in May 2021. 

Accounting Service Group

The Accounting Service Group partners with IBC, DOI, and Treasury to provide daily 

accounting support to the agency, including general ledger reconciliation, fee/fingerprint 

payment processing, monthly fingerprint invoice distribution, quarterly fee statement 

distribution, Pay.gov management and maintenance, travel reimbursement transactions, 

internal/external financial reporting, NIGC fund allotment and balance management, charge 

card coordination and support, and financial reporting in response to DOI/OMB’s data calls.

Financial Service Group

The Financial Service Group is responsible for the coordination of management contract 

submission and review process which includes receiving, distributing, reviewing/processing, 

working closely with OGC to prepare issues lists/letters, and recommending approval or 

disapproval decision to the Chair related to management contracts and contract modifications 

submitted by tribes and management contractors in a timely fashion. The staff reviews 

documents to ensure the submission is complete, prepares submission/issues lists, ensures all 

issues are properly reviewed by OGC, communicates with the parties during the review 

process, and drafts issues letter to require contract changes (if necessary) to ensure 

compliance with 25 C.F.R. Parts 531, 533, and 537. 

In addition, the Financial Service Group is responsible for the agency’s procurement and 

intra-agency agreements (IAA) activities. The staff partners with IBC/AQD and is 

responsible for the daily support of the agency’s procurement activities including processing 

IAA’s and contracts with external vendors, reviewing/submitting purchase acquisitions to 

AQD, and processing payments based on terms of the agreements/contracts in a timely 

manner.

Background Investigation Group

The Financial Background Investigators perform background investigations of individuals 

and entities with a financial interest in, or management responsibility for, management 

contracts entered into between tribal governments and prospective management companies. 

The staff prepares reports to summarize findings based on investigations, makes suitability 

recommendation of management contractors, and presents to the Chair for his approval or 

disapproval decision. 
NIGC Annual Report 

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Division of Public Affairs

The Division of Public Affairs is led by the Chief of Public Affairs and consists of the public 

affairs, communications, and the training program. The Division of Public Affairs provides 

tribes, tribal regulators, Congress, the public and industry stakeholders with clear and 

accurate information about the National Indian Gaming Commission’s programs and 

activities. As such, the division is responsible for planning, coordinating and managing the 

agency’s media relations, community engagement, internal information, and legislative 

affairs programs, which increases understanding of Indian gaming and the agency’s 

regulatory role. 

The Division of Public Affairs not only carried out its core responsibilities but also 

demonstrated teamwork and responsiveness in supporting the entire agency by representing 

and completing a list of media responsibilities.

Key Accomplishments

1. Email Correspondence Data

• Reviewed over 125,000 emails from the general and contact us mailboxes to 

determine agency relevancy and authenticity. 

• Responded to over 220 emails and forwarded over 150 emails for agency 

action and response. 

• Email distributions reaching over 1.7 million contacts

2. Virtual Employee Retreat

The Public Affairs team collaborated with two volunteers from OGC to create and 

implement the first ever NIGC employee retreat virtually.

3. Internal Intranet Growth

The Public Affairs team manages and are the administrators for the agencies

internal intranet. Over FY21 the team built out over 30 pages and uploaded over 

130 documents to ensure agency employees have relevant information in one 

easily accessible location. 

4. Social Media Growth

Social media is essential in getting the agency messaging in front of the targeted 

audiences. Many industry experts and stakeholders rely on social media for their 

news and updates. Ensuring we at the NIGC are using the most efficient and 

effective channels of communication is key to agency mission and success. The

top 5 posts from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter reached 43,175 users.

5. Top 5 Videos

• Vital Voices - views 341 

• NIGC Monthly Training Promotions Fraud - views 194 
NIGC Annual Report 

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• NIGC Awareness Training TAT- view 175 

• NIGC Budget Resources and Update Video - view 149 

• Chairman Simermeyer’ s Consultation message– views 123 

6. YouTube Data breakdown

• YouTube Number of Video views = 4,653 

• YouTube- Watch Time (In Hours) = 858.1 

• 103% increase of views over FY20 

• 54.5% of views were direct from links 

• 34.7% of views were external (searched or clicked through website 

link)

Division of Technology

The Division of Technology (DoT) is led by the Chief Information Officer. The Division is 

responsible for managing the agency’s networks and communications infrastructure, 

fingerprint applications and services, and delivers technical operations and support to internal 

and external stakeholders. Tribal community support includes Information Technology 

Vulnerability Assessments (ITVA) and Regulating Gaming Technology resources and 

training events. DoT also supports the agency through technology research on emerging 

technologies affecting gaming and operations. In addition, the Division Processes Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) requests and enforces Records Management and Privacy Act 

compliance for the agency. The DoT is currently composed of three program areas covering 

Information Technology and Support, Information Technology Audit, and Records and 

Information Management.

Key Accomplishments

1. Successful Procurement for technology initiatives

In collaboration with the Division of Finance and DOI Acquisitions, IT 

successfully executed on $1.5M in procurement actions and awards for FY21 

Technology initiatives. These procurement actions enabled the Agency to sustain 

operations more effectively by leveraging professional services and maintenance 

support.

2. Fingerprint Modernization

Fingerprint Modernization project was initiated in late FY21 and has completed 

the initial requirements and gathering phase. The vendor and IT are working in 

close collaboration with key stakeholders, have started the design phase and will 

begin testing the initial prototype of the application in the development 

environment contained within Azure Government cloud.

3. IT Support
NIGC Annual Report 

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Performance Measure FY21 Statistics

Number of unplanned data outages 3

Number of major applications updated 4

Number of network security patches implemented 123

Number of IT service requests created 2976

Number of IT service requests resolved 2675

4. IT Audits

• 4 – Internal Controls Assessments

• 1 – CJIS IT Audits (6 initiated)

• Worked with 20 different tribes on 41 different IT issues from CJIS, MICS, to 

general IT questions by email and/or phone providing guidance

5. Established Tech Alert’s Page on NIGC Website

• 4 – Alerts to the Tech Alerts and Warnings page

• 2 – Internal cybersecurity preparedness from OCIO 

• 5 – Updates to Useful Links 

6. Privacy Program formalized

In FY21, the agency designated a Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP). 

The SAOP is charged with developing the agency’s privacy program to achieve 

compliance with federal regulatory requirements (FISMA, Privacy Act). The 

Privacy Threshold Assessment and a Privacy Impact Assessment were completed 

in FY21 and the development of a privacy policy catalog has been initiated.

Information Technology and Support Program

Division of Technology’s core IT Support team is centralized at the NIGC headquarters office 

in Washington, DC and is responsible for providing Information Technology services and 

support to eight regional locations throughout the continental United States. Our commitment 

is to continuously advance the agency’s use of technology to support the Commission’s 

regulatory mission and to support the tribal community. We manage the agency’s core 

network and communications infrastructure and ensure timely delivery of core services to 

include the following:

• Tribal Information Management and Access Portal 

• Fingerprint Processing System and Services 

• Agency Email and Cloud Collaboration Tools 

• Managed End User Systems and Support 

Information Technology (IT) Audit Program

The IT Audit program provides a wide range of IT audits, vulnerability and internal controls 

assessments, and technical training and assistance. The services provided by this program 

ensures compliance to various federal and statutory requirements. 

Records and Information Management (RIM) Program
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Records and Information Management (RIM) provides support and guidance to ensure the 

agency adheres to standards set forth by the National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for electronic records 

management and works to ensure the agency is on schedule to meet records management 

priorities for the Commission. The program is also responsible for responding to FOIA 

requests and works with agency divisions and staff to process to completion
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The National Indian Gaming Commission’s mission is to support tribal self-sufficiency and the 

integrity of Indian gaming through effective regulation. Together with tribes and states, the NIGC 

regulates more than 510 gaming establishments operated by 243 tribes across 29 states. To learn 

more, visit www.nigc.gov and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.