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Indian casinos get expansion 'yes'

Four Indian tribes in California have been given the go-ahead to add thousands of slot machines to their casino offerings.

Approving the largest expansion of Indian gambling in years, Californian authorities have agreed to approve the addition of 17,000 new slot machines.

The largest casino-operating tribes in southern California are expected to substantially benefit from the move and will share hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased revenue with the state each year.

A ballot was held after opponents of the plans argued that the expansion would place to large a share of wealth in the hands of a select number of tribes in Riverside and San Diego counties.

The four tribes involved in the expansion plans spent around $100 million to get the measures passed by Californian voters, highlighting the fiscal benefits to the state of passing them.

Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger backed the proposals, which will more than double the number of machines the four tribes operate in southern California.