EMPLOYMENT

Simermeyer was appointed to the position by then-President Donald Trump and confirmed unanimously by the US Senate on November 2019 to a three-year term. In his role as Chairman, Simermeyer is responsible for overseeing the agency’s daily operations, including its eight regional offices. He also oversees the commission’s national and local training and technical assistance.

As Chairman, Simermeyer has the authority to issue civil enforcement fines and temporary closure orders for regulatory violations by gaming operators on Indian lands. The commission regulates more than 500 Indian gaming facilities associated with nearly 250 s across 29 states.

Simermeyer first joined the commission in November 2015 when he was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to serve as one of the commission’s Associate Commissioners. The commission is made up of three commissioners, two Associate Commissioners and the Chairman. While serving as Associate Commissioner, Simermeyer directed the agency’s Office of Self-Regulation. During that time, the commission unanimously certified a third of all self-regulated Tribes.

The NIGC is focused on three key areas. Simermeyer outlined them as, "Skill-planning: what skills our regulatory body is investing in, in order to prepare for the future of the always-evolving industry, from a regulator’s perspective. Strategic recruitment: whether it’s a large community of a workforce that you’re drawing from, or a small rural community — maintaining continuity of operations is an important role that the regulatory body must play. And finally, knowledge retention: as we grow and the industry matures and reaches different milestones, how do we incorporate the knowledge from past regulatory subject matter experts and use that to build in the future?"

Before joining the commission, Simermeyer served as an advisor to the Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. In that role, he helped draft legislative proposals and committee reports and prepared oversight and legislative hearings. He also was the Deputy Chief of Staff to the US Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs under multiple presidential administrations.

Before he entered public service, in 2007, he was with the National Congress of American Indians, which is a national, intertribal organization that seeks to protect tribal governments’ rights.

FanDuel

In February 2024, FanDuel Group, industry giant and subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment, appointed Simermeyer to the newly established position of VP of Strategic Partnerships. 

In his new role at FanDuel, Simermeyer aims to play a crucial part in leading the company's initiatives to cultivate sustainable commercial relationships across the US, with a specific focus on promoting economic development that supports tribal sovereignty. 

We’re trying to facilitate a conversation across the regulatory community about our workforce, and how to plan for the next 35 years. And so, we identified three areas of discussion that we want to use to help facilitate that conversation E. Sequoyah Simermeyer

Interviews and public speeches

As part of Gaming America's CEO Special, Simermeyer discussed the steps that took him from an appreciation of Tribal government and values, to a career based firmly around them, in September 2023.