WASHINGTON -- A recent court decision may speed efforts by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to strengthen federal regulation of Indian gaming.

On Aug. 28, U.S. District Judge John Bates of Washington, D.C., ruled the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 does not empower the federal government to issue or enforce regulations on tribal casinos. Instead, regulation is controlled by compacts negotiated between state and tribal officials, Bates said.

McCain, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, on Wednesday questioned the logic of the judge's ruling.

He said the 1988 act created the National Indian Gaming Commission to regulate Indian casinos.

"In light of this recent court decision, it seems to me for us to do nothing. ... I think we would not be carrying out our responsibilities appropriately," McCain said.

The committee already has passed a McCain bill to increase funding for the National Indian Gaming Commission, but the legislation has not reached the Senate floor.

Philip Hogen, the commission's chairman, told the committee the court ruling already is causing problems for his agency. The Colorado River Indian Tribes, who won the lawsuit, are denying the commission access to their financial records, Hogen said.

Hogen said he is concerned other tribes will use the court ruling to ignore federal regulation.

"I think it is urgent that we have a remedy to this problem," Hogen said.

Mark Van Norman, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association, which is the chief lobbying arm of tribal casinos, said there is no need for a quick fix to the court ruling.

Van Norman did not dispute the regulatory authority of the National Indian Gaming Commission, but he said it must be in a "background, supportive role" to tribal and state regulation.

"We view this as an issue of tribal sovereignty," Van Norman said.

Friction between gaming tribes and the National Indian Gaming Commission has increased in recent years as the federal agency has sought to enforce minimum internal control standards on Indian gaming operations.

Kevin Washburn, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, said tribal regulators do a better job with NIGC officials checking their work.

"But problems arise when NIGC regulators get heavy-handed," Washburn said.

Noting that Indian gaming has mushroomed into a $19.5 billion per year industry, McCain has led a series of hearings this year on amending the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

"I have a recurring fear that there is going to be some scandal out there, as there is from time to time in non-Indian gaming, which is not under our jurisdiction," McCain said. "But Indian gaming is."