Casino Arizona, Talking Stick Recognized For Human Trafficking Prevention

Recently, two casinos in Arizona were praised for their efforts to combat human trafficking.

On April 27, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s properties – Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort – received the Safeguarding All From Exploitation Action Project Certification from the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network (AATN).

The AATN collaborates with businesses in the tourism sector to provide their employees with the essential skills and knowledge to identify, report, and prevent human trafficking.

First casinos to obtain certification

In Arizona, the number of tribal casinos exceeds two dozen. Although online casinos remain forbidden in Arizona, The Grand Canyon State offers several sweepstakes and social casinos to its players.

After 94% of their combined staff completed the Safeguarding All From Exploitation (SAFE) Action Project by AATN, Talking Stick and Casino Arizona received certification. They took part in the program earlier this year in anticipation of Super Bowl LVII.

The AATN required all tourism industry companies to finish the program. The first two casinos to achieve this at a sufficiently high rate to receive certification were the Arizona tribal casinos. Over a period of just over two months, AATN trained 3,025 employees.

The certification demonstrates the casinos’ dedication to safety, stated Anthony Maxwell, the security director at Casino Arizona.

It is our privilege to be the sole casinos in the state, certified and recognized by a respected organization like the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network. We always prioritize our guests’ safety, and knew that additional measures were essential in anticipation of the influx of visitors during the Super Bowl.

Casinos aim to train all of their staff.

Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort are aiming to train all their staff through the SAFE Action Project by the end of the year, although the Super Bowl may have been the motivation to finish the course.

Maxwell stated that they will facilitate regular in-person training sessions for this purpose, and have also developed an online course that staff can complete at their own convenience.

The certification of the SAFE Action Project is just the starting point. Our dedication to continue training our staff in identifying, reporting, and preventing human trafficking on our premises and further afield remains steadfast. We also hope that other organizations in Arizona will take similar measures.

Arizona is ranked 13th in the nation for human trafficking.

In 2021, the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) recorded over 50,000 signals. These signals comprised calls, texts, emails, web chats, and online tip reports, with two-thirds revealing their locations. Arizona alone accounted for 651 of these signals.

According to the NHTH, Arizona is the 13th highest ranking state in the US for human trafficking.

Participants of the AATN SAFE Action Project are proactively working to decrease the number of accidents in the future. This should, in turn, enhance Arizona’s safety ranking.

However, its primary goal is to serve as a model for other in-state industries and states that aim to adopt a stronger approach to prevent human trafficking.