This paper reviews historical and legal factors contributing to the development of gaming as a source of tribal revenue, and assesses the impact on education from revenue generated from the Mystic Lake Casino near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Corporate shareholders of the casino are members of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Although U.S. law supports the status of Indian tribes as sovereign nations, the state of Florida took the Seminole tribe to court after the tribe opened a bingo parlor in 1976. In this case and a similar case in California, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of reservation American Indians to establish their own ordinances for regulating bingo games, but dissenting justices argued that unless Congress authorized and regulated tribal gaming, the State had a legitimate law enforcement interest. As a result, in 1988 Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to assist tribes in regulating gambling. Soon thereafter, the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association was established and reached an agreement with the State concerning gaming regulations. Monies generated from the Mystic Lake Casino have funded an after-school program, a cooperative education program, an advocate for students, an alternative school for students with special needs, and adult education training programs. Currently, Canada's First Nations are fighting the provincial government of Saskatchewan to allow a casino to remain open on the White Bear Reserve. Although the future of tribal gaming is uncertain in Canada, developments in the United States could establish a precedent regarding tribal gaming. (LP)