Frequently Asked Questions — COVID-19

The most current version of this a document is available at www.NIGC.gov

The NIGC Division of Compliance maintains this list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in consultation 

with the NIGC’s Office of General Counsel and the Agency’s Commission. This collection of FAQs is 

updated as needed. To propose a question for this FAQ list, please coordinate with a Tribal Gaming 

Regulatory Authority (TGRA). The NIGC encourages all TGRAs to remain in close communication with 

their NIGC Region Office as Indian gaming facilities across Indian country assess and address the risks 

associated with the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The time periods discussed below with 

regards to submission deadlines will continue to be re-examined should closures continue beyond 

deadlines or the specific number of days provided for in this version of the FAQ.

1. Question: How many tribally licensed gaming facilities have temporarily closed in response to 

COVID-19?

Answer: The NIGC does not know of any Indian gaming operations that have not taken 

mitigation steps as a result of tribes’ own local-level assessment of risks from COVID-19. As of 

Friday, March 20, 2020, the NIGC knows of 454 planned or ongoing closures. Every closure 

decision has been based on tribal governments local-level assessments. The NIGC continues to 

support local government coordination and promotes the resources and guidance available at 

www.CDC.gov.

2. Question: What are the staffing concerns for TGRAs and gaming operations should they choose 

to remain open?

Answer: The TGRA should continually assess critical positions such as surveillance, gaming 

inspectors, and compliance officers to ensure regulatory duties are being upheld. Should the 

casino remain operational, both the casino and TGRA must ensure enough staffing to remain 

compliant with NIGC MICS, TICS, SICS, Compacts and other applicable regulatory requirements. 

A review of critical positions should be made to determine adequate coverage of the gaming 

operation. Consideration should be made for positions in surveillance, security, cage, count and 

drop, and various management positions needed for signature and approval authority to ensure 

internal control.

3. Question: What are the notification requirements for closing a facility?

Answer: The NIGC encourages tribes to self-report temporary closures to the NIGC as soon as 

possible. Under 25 C.F.R. Part 559, notice for closing should be submitted to NIGC within 30 

days of closing if the tribe anticipates being closed for more than 180 days. However, the NIGC is 

asking that TGRAs report closures within 72 hours for tracking purposes along with the date the 

tribe anticipates reopening. NIGC asks that the TGRA keep in contact with NIGC through their 

Region Office and inform them of any changes with the plan to reopen.
4. Question: What does the NIGC do if it learns that there are plans to close a a tribally licensed 

gaming facility?

Answer: As tribal law makers, tribal gaming regulatory bodies, and/or gaming operators decide 

to temporarily close a licensed facility based on their local on-the-ground assessments, the NIGC 

Region Offices will continue to have a presence. NIGC Region Directors have received a two-step 

protocol from the NIGC Director of Compliance. The protocol will help the NIGC maintain an 

appropriate presence and facilitate support for a tribal community that has temporarily closed 

based on local circumstances.

5. Question: What considerations should a TGRA account for when securing and adequately 

protecting casino assets in the event it becomes necessary to evacuate a casino with little 

forewarning and very little time to secure casino assets, such as monetary instruments and 

gaming instruments?

Answer: The TGRA, in coordination with casino management, should prepare for situations that

would require expedited evacuation of the gaming facility. Plans should include transferring 

monetary instruments to the vault for security reasons. The Minimum Internal Control 

Standards found in NIGC regulations 25 C.F.R. Section 543.18(c)(4) requires the count of the 

cage and vault inventories by at least two employees with signatures attesting to the counts.

Should the gaming operation close, this standard would be effective at the time of closure. 

Upon reopening, the cage and vault inventories would then be recounted and verified against 

the previous closing balances, with special emphasis and investigations placed on any variances 

between the two counts. The tribe and casino should consider transferring the cage and vault 

cash inventories to their financial institution as that would be considered the most secure 

option.

6. Question: What guidelines can the NIGC provide in the case of mandatory partial evacuations 

within the casino, but not a facility-wide closure, such as the following:

a. Example: The evacuation and sterilization of the casino surveillance room.

Answer: Surveillance functions are critical to regulation and monitoring of assets. If the 

TGRA or gaming operation cannot properly regulate and monitor assets, the TGRA 

and/or gaming operation should consider what steps would best remedy the threat to 

assets, up to and including closure.

b. Example: The evacuation and sterilization of the casino cash cage, soft count, slot tech 

department, or other mission critical departments.

Answer: The TGRA in coordination with the gaming operation should evaluate the 

adequacy of regulating, monitoring, or securing assets. Should there be threats that 

compromise the proper security and monitoring of assets, the TGRA should consider if it 

is appropriate to issue a temporary closure order.
7. Question: Can gaming operations refuse service or entry to patrons?

Answer: The TGRA should consult with its legal counsel to identify specific ordinances, codes, 

regulations and other authoritative documents (such as a tribe’s declarations of emergency, 

executive orders or resolutions) that explain any limits on the tribe’s authority to determine 

who enters and remains on its Indian lands.

8. Question: What Information Technology (IT) concerns should a TGRA consider duringa 

temporary closure?

Answer: The TGRA in coordination with the gaming operation should ensure that NIGC MICS 

along with TICS and SICS are followed. This would include but not be limited to, having back-ups 

in place with frequent saving of information and testing to ensure back-up systems are 

functioning properly. In terms of logical access, TGRAs should follow TICS and SICS surrounding 

access levels and who is required to have access. This requires TGRAs to review access lists and 

logs that will assist in terminating any non-essential access. VPN access should also follow MICS, 

TICS and SICS guidelines, however reviewing those licenses that will require essential access 

should occur. If there is a need for temporary VPN access, when operations are restored remove 

all temporary access. Avoid using any "bring your own device" (BYOD) if possible, however if 

BYOD cannot be avoided have those devices vetted to diminish any risks for the operations.

Lastly, consideration may be appropriate for adding an additional IT Administrative access-user 

to the IT remote user access group for redundancy.

9. Question: What are some important surveillance considerations during a closure?

Answer: The TGRA and gaming operation management should ensure cameras are positioned to 

monitor and record all sensitive areas including gaming supplies, exits and entrances. Also, the 

TGRA and gaming operation management should ensure surveillance systems’ recordings are 

being backed-up and tested to be certain systems are working properly. Surveillance functions 

are critical to regulating and monitoring of assets. If the TGRA or gaming operation believes that 

it cannot properly regulate gaming operations and monitor assets, the TGRA and/or gaming 

operation should consider how best to remedy the threat by taking additional steps during the 

closure.

10. Question: What are some important considerations when clearing the casino floor?

Answer: The TGRA should coordinate with the gaming operation’s management when removing 

all patrons and unauthorized employees from the facility. Develop a matrix or authorized access 

listing to the facility during the closure. Coordinate with IT for possible disabling of nonessential’s logical access during closure. Procedures should be in place for monitoring 

VPN/remote access for vendors and authorized employees. Consider disabling all machines 

from play during the closure. Prior to disabling, a snap shot of all meters and in-house 

progressives should be obtained and provided to TGRA and accounting. Considerperforming
emergency drop procedures and ensure all funds properly secure (e.g. vault). All monetary 

instruments should be properly secured and may be best secured by transferring to the vault. 

Casino management may want to consult with vendors whom they have lease participation 

agreements with. Consider that potential issues regarding adjustments to participation fees may 

arise.

11. Question: Will the NIGC adjust deadlines or grant any extensions for required submissions such 

as fees, contracts, and licensing?

Answer: IGRA and NIGC regulations do not provide for extensions to the statutory and 

regulatory deadlines. In instances where the tribe has provided written notice to the NIGC 

through their NIGC Region Office that its licensed gaming facility has closed, the NIGC Division of 

Compliance will remain in close communication with the TGRA if it is necessary to make 

recommendations for enforcement to the Chairman. This communication will help the Division 

of Compliance provide context for any recommendation in light of the Chairman’s March 20, 

2020. That memorandum modifies the Compliance Division’s enforcement focus. The Chairman 

has conveyed to the NIGC Division of Compliance that the Commission is considering its options 

for implementing easing measures for Indian gaming operations during this national mitigation 

effort. Please remain in close communication with the NIGC with regard to the below 

requirements in order to assist with the Commission’s assessment of any future measures.

a. Fees and Worksheets

i. As required by 25 C.F.R. § 514, Fees and Worksheets are due three (3) months, 

six (6) months, nine (9) months, and twelve (12) months of the end of the 

gaming operation's fiscal year. For example, if the operation’s fiscal year end is 

December 31, 2019, fees will be due on or before March 31, 2020, June 30, 

2020, September 30, 2020 and December 31,2020.

ii. According to 25 C.F.R. § 514.9, fees that are not submitted when due are 

considered late until they are 90 days past due, after which the NIGC

considers the fees as un-submitted, rather than late.

iii. The Compliance Division will not recommend late fee assessmentsfor payments 

made within 90 days of the regulatory deadline.

iv. NIGC encourages tribes to submit payments using the on-line process at 

pay.gov. Learn more about pay.gov and other fee related information at

https://www.nigc.gov/finance/Annual-fees. You can submit additional inquiries 

to: fee_questions@nigc.gov

b. Fingerprint Fee Statements

i. As required by 25 C.F.R. § 514, the current fingerprint card bill rate is $22.00, 

billed monthly and due within forty-five (45) days of the date ofthe bill.
ii. Payments made after reopening or staff returning to work but no later than 30 

days from the date of the missed fingerprint fee statement due date will not be 

scrutinized. You can submit additional inquiriesto: fingerprint_billing@nigc.gov

c. Licensing Submissions:

i. Currently there are three required key employee and primary management 

official licensing requirements under 25 C.F.R. Parts 556 and 558. Under25

C.F.R. Part 556.6 a Notice of Results (NOR) is due to the NIGC region office 

within sixty (60) days after an applicant begins work. Additionally, as requiredby 

25 C.F.R. Part 558.3, a notice of license issuance is due to the NIGC region office 

within thirty (30) days of the tribe’s issuance of a permanent license. Also, 

under 25 C.F.R. Part 558.3, if a tribe does not license the applicant, the tribe 

shall submit its eligibility determination and NOR to the NIGC. There is no a 

deadline for this submission.

ii. TGRA’s are encouraged to submit any outstanding NORs to the NIGC within 60 

days of reopening or the applicant returns to work. At this time, the Notice of 

license can still be issued within 30 days of issuance on all NORs that were 

submitted late due to TGRA office closure. If Licensed by Tribe submissions were 

not completed for employees who were issued a permanent license before 

closure, those submissions must be made within 30 days of reopening. We 

request that Not Licensed by Tribe submissions are made within 30 days of 

reopening, however there is not a specific deadline for this particular 

submission. NIGC Compliance Officers’ scrutiny of submission dates will account 

for any extended closure period.

Please contact your NIGC Regional Office for additional information.

d. Facility Licenses:

i. As required in 25 C.F.R. Part 559, a request to the NIGC for any new facility 

under consideration requires at least one hundred twenty (120) days before

the opening of the new gaming facility. Newly issued or renewed facility 

licenses must be submitted to the NIGC within 30 days of issuance. Finally, if a 

facility license is terminated, expires, or if the gaming facility closes or reopens, 

notification must be made to the NIGC within thirty (30) days of theevent.

ii. The NIGC will maintain the ability to accept electronic submission of all notices 

required under this requirement through facility_license_ephs@nigc.gov. The 

Compliance Division will actively assist TGRA’s on ensuring timely notices are 

made where possible and take into consideration where facility and tribal 

government closures otherwise prevented timely submissions. Should any 

actions taken by the TGRA or tribal government trigger the submission of any of 

the above notices, please notify your Region Office for furtherguidance.
e. Agreed Upon Procedures Audit and Financial Statement Audit

i. As detailed in 25 C.F.R. § 543.23(d)(1) the Tribe must engage a CPA to complete 

an Agreed Upon Procedures (AUP) Audit and report the findings to the NIGC 

within one hundred twenty (120) days of the gaming operation’s fiscal year end. 

Additionally, 25 C.F.R. § 571 requires each tribe to prepare Audited Financial 

Statement which are also due within one hundred twenty (120) days of the 

gaming operation’s fiscal year end.

ii. With regard to the reporting deadlines for audited financial statements and 

Agreed Upon Procedure reports, NIGC encourages submissions within 30 days 

of the audit and report original due dates.