25 C.F.R. § 293.27 – What factors will the Secretary analyze to determine if revenue sharing is lawful?

(a) A compact or amendment may include provisions that address revenue sharing in exchange for a State's meaningful concessions resulting in a substantial economic benefit for the Tribe.
(b) The Department reviews revenue sharing provisions with great scrutiny beginning with the presumption that a Tribe's payment to a State or local government for anything beyond § 293.18 regulatory fee is a prohibited “tax, fee, charge, or other assessment.” In order for the Department to approve revenue sharing the parties must show through documentation, such as a market study or other similar evidence, that:
1. (1) The Tribe has requested and the State has offered specific meaningful concessions the State was otherwise not required to negotiate;
2. (2) The value of the specific meaningful concessions offered by the State provides substantial economic benefits to the Tribe in a manner justifying the revenue sharing required by the compact; and
3. (3) The Tribe is the primary beneficiary of the gaming measured by projected revenue to the Tribe against projected revenue shared with the State.
(c) The inclusion of revenue sharing provisions to the State that is not justified by meaningful concessions of substantial economic benefit to the Tribe may be considered evidence of a violation of IGRA.