Sharon M. Avery appointed as Acting Chair of the NIGC

President Joe Biden has selected Ms. Sharon M. Avery as the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC)’s new Acting Chair on a temporary basis.

Her role began May 15th and will last until there is an official appointment to chairmanship by the Senate. Just last week, the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland named Avery an Associate Commissioner at NIGC, officially for a three-year period, so she is currently holding two positions.

Avery was thankful for the confidence in her. She pledged to carry out her obligations effectively under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act so that tribal gaming will remain well-regulated. In the last four years she was an Associate General Counsel at NIGC. During more than a decade prior to this time period, she had been employed in her tribe’s legal division.

Sequoyah Simermeyer, the former chair, resigned to take a job at FanDuel after serving for nine years at the NIGC. Avery’s appointment follows his departure. Simermeyer was instrumental in leading the NIGC through the COVID-19 pandemic during his tenure, which resulted in record-breaking revenue of forty-one billion dollars for American tribe casinos in 2023.