186
Opinion of the Court
gamblers as well as their families, communities, and government; and street, white-collar, and organized crime. Id., at 16-20.
We can accept the characterization of these two interests as "substantial," but that conclusion is by no means self-evident. No one seriously doubts that the Federal Government may assert a legitimate and substantial interest in alleviating the societal ills recited above, or in assisting like-minded States to do the same. Cf. Edge, 509 U. S., at 428. But in the judgment of both the Congress and many state legislatures, the social costs that support the suppression of gambling are offset, and sometimes outweighed, by countervailing policy considerations, primarily in the form of economic benefits.5 Despite its awareness of the potential
5 Some form of gambling is legal in nearly every State. Government Lodging 192. Thirty-seven States and the District of Columbia operate lotteries. Ibid.; National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Staff Report: Lotteries 1 (1999). As of 1997, commercial casino gambling existed in 11 States, see North American Gaming Report 1997, Int'l Gaming & Wagering Bus., July 1997, pp. S4-S31, and at least 5 authorize state-sponsored video gambling, see Del. Code Ann., Tit. 29, §§ 4801, 4803(f)-(g), 4820 (1974 and Supp. 1997); Ore. Rev. Stat. § 461.215 (1998); R. I. Gen. Laws § 42-61.2-2(a) (1998); S. D. Const., Art. III, § 25 (1999); S. D. Comp. Laws Ann. §§ 42-7A-4(4), (11A) (1991); W. Va. Code § 29-22A-4 (1999). Also as of 1997, about half the States in the Union hosted Class III Indian gaming (which may encompass casino gambling), including Louisiana, Mississippi, and four other States that had private casinos. United States General Accounting Office, Casino Gaming Regulation: Roles of Five States and the National Indian Gaming Commission 4-6 (May 1998) (including Indian casino gaming in five States without approved compacts); cf. National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Staff Report: Native American Gaming 2 (1999) (hereinafter Native American Gaming) (noting that 14 States have on-reservation Indian casinos, and that those casinos are the only casinos in 8 States). One count by the Bureau of Indian Affairs tallied 60 tribes that advertise their casinos on television and radio. Government Lodging 408, 435-437 (3 App. in Player's Int'l, Inc. v. United States, No. 98-5127 (CA3)). By the mid-1990's, tribal casino-style gambling generated over $3 billion in gaming revenue—increasing its share to 18%
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