WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans tried Wednesday to curb the explosive growth of Indian gambling by prohibiting tribes from building casinos away from their reservations, but the effort failed in the House.

Lawmakers voted 247-171 for the measure, but that was short of the two-thirds majority needed.

Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., said he had hoped the legislation would stop "reservation shopping," a growing trend. Tribal gambling has become a $22 billion-a-year industry, richer than Nevada casinos.

"How this bill could be considered controversial -- outside Indian gaming circles, of course -- is beyond me," Pombo said after the vote.

The legislation was opposed by the country's leading tribal organizations, and some Democrats said it amounted to an unwarranted intrusion into tribes' sovereign right to self-government.

Democrats also objected because the bill was brought to the House floor under rules preventing amendments and limiting debate. The same rules required two-thirds approval for passage, something the minority party was easily able to block.

"We've seen tribes abused historically in this country," Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., complained before the vote. "I think that's happening again today."

Despite the failure, Pombo could try to bring the bill up again under regular rules requiring a simple majority for approval, and it would likely pass. Aides conceded there may not be time to do that with lawmakers eager to recess by the end of the month so they can spend October campaigning for re-election.

Lawmakers in Oregon and Washington were divided along party lines. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., joined all four House Republicans in supporting the bill, while nine of 10 Democrats in the two states opposed it.

Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., said lawmakers should have the opportunity to offer amendments. The bill would be the first major change in Indian gaming law in nearly two decades.

Wu opposes an effort by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to build a casino in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge.

As drafted, the bill would not affect the Warm Springs plan or a similar plan by the Cowlitz tribe to build a casino in Washington state. The two tribes are among nine in Washington and Oregon that met deadlines set earlier this year by Pombo and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

If Pombo brings up the bill again, Wu said, he will seek to amend it to prevent the Warm Springs from building a casino in Cascade Locks, Ore., 40 miles east of Portland.

"The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is our Yosemite, our Grand Canyon," Wu said. "It is wrong to build a 600,000-square-foot casino drawing three million people and one million additional cars each year for non-Gorge purposes into the Gorge. I will not be silent while our crown jewel gets trashed."

Residents of Cascade Locks hope the casino will boost their economically lagging town, while the Warm Springs say the planned Bridge of the Gods casino would be a vast improvement over their present casino on a remote site on their Central Oregon reservation.

"This bill has a basic premise -- Indian gaming should occur on Indian lands," Pombo said. Without the change, "virtually any land in the country could be targeted for gaming."

Though few of the nation's nearly 225 casino-operating tribes have succeeded in building in better locations away from their reservations, a growing number are trying. Tribes are attempting to locate in the Catskills in New York, and tribes from opposite ends of California are trying to build in the Mojave Desert on the route connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Pombo's legislation would block many such projects in the future, although projects already proposed could go forward.

The bill would amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 to eliminate an exception that lets tribes build off-reservation with approval from the secretary of the interior and the host state's governor.

The measure still would have let tribes seek casino permits if they have been newly recognized by the federal government or if they have no reservation land of their own. But they would also have to reach agreements with local communities to ensure that a share of casino revenues go to local infrastructure, public safety and other costs.

The bill would let tribes invite other tribes to build casinos on their reservation land and share profits.

In a joint letter last week, the National Indian Gaming Association, the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Business Association asked House members to vote against the bill.

"Tribal governments are only beginning to overcome the adverse policies of the past. The unwarranted and far-reaching changes to Indian policy included in (the bill) must be rejected," the letter said.

The debate comes as tribes' newfound wealth is transforming them into influential political players. Tribes donated more than $5 million to federal candidates for the 2006 election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Democrats have reaped 58 percent of he money, and Republicans 42 percent.

Off-reservation gambling figured in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Abramoff has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, tax evasion and other charges in what officials said was a conspiracy to corrupt public officials.

On behalf of tribal clients including the casino-operating Louisiana Coushattas and Mississippi Choctaw, Abramoff helped corral opposition from top lawmakers to a proposal by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians in Louisiana to build a competing, off-reservation casino.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee in March approved a bill by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to crack down on off-reservation casinos. It has been stalled by opposition from several senators, in some cases because tribes in their states don't like it.

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Associated Press Writer Matthew Daly contributed to this story.