The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS on Sept. 17, 2024, issued Proposed Regulations on the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014 (the Act). The Proposed Regulations are an overdue win for Indian country,...more
In a recent judicial decision involving the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the Tribe has faced a setback in establishing a casino near Detroit, Michigan. The case of Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v....more
For forty years, the Chevron doctrine, established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), has been a cornerstone of administrative law in the United States. Under the...more
A gambling compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which allows for sports betting off tribal lands, will remain in place after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for review filed by...more
After three long years, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, a leader in the fight for Tribal gaming rights, appears to have just won its latest battle – this one over a Tribe’s ability to offer mobile sports betting throughout the...more
In June, a federal court of appeals in Washington, D.C., authored a decision that could drastically alter the future of sports betting across the nation. In West Flagler Associates Ltd. v. Haaland (“West Flagler”), the court...more
On March 22, 2024, a new federal rule published by the U.S. Department of the Interior (Department or DOI) went into effect, governing the Department’s review and oversight of certain tribal gaming arrangements....more
On February 27, 2024, the District Court for the Eastern District of California entered an order finding that California did not negotiate a Class III gaming compact in good faith with Plaintiff Alturas Indian Rancheria...more
On February 16, 2024, the United States Department of the Interior (“DOI”) issued revisions to its regulations for how it reviews Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compacts under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”). The...more
On January 31, 2024, the United States Department of the Interior issued gaming procedures under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”) for five tribes located in California: Blue Lake Rancheria, Chemehuevi Indian...more
In a recent decision, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in the case of Sipp v. Buffalo Thunder Inc. that state courts do not have the authority to adjudicate tort claims filed by casino visitors. The unanimous decision...more
In an interim order, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily stayed an order by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a gaming compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which would allow the...more
There has been a recent decision on an interesting case involving a challenge to the ability of the federal government to provide benefits or rights to Tribes and other Native organizations....more
The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians (“Rincon”) in California has taken a historical step under its federally approved Class III Secretarial Gaming Procedures to withdraw from California’s state oversight of its tribal gaming...more
On July 28, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Court” or “Ninth Circuit”) issued a significant decision addressing the Class III gaming compact negotiation process between a state and a tribe as required by the Federal...more
In a 5-4 vote on Wednesday, June 15, the United States Supreme Court resolved a longstanding dispute about the ability of Texas to control gaming conducted by the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe (the “Tribe”). The case...more
On January 11, 2022, Maverick Gaming LLC (Maverick), a non-tribal cardroom and casino operator, initiated a lawsuit in D.C. federal court challenging Washington state’s sports betting framework, which grants...more
On November 23, 2021, the US District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated a 2021 gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida, which permitted mobile sports wagering throughout the...more
On Monday, November 22, a Washington, D.C. federal court vacated U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s approval of the 2021 Florida-Seminole Tribal Gaming Compact (the Compact), thereby invalidating the Compact in its...more
As the Seminole Tribe’s anticipated November 15 online betting “launch” approaches, there has been a flurry of activity in the three lawsuits challenging the online sports betting provisions in the 2021 Seminole Tribal-State...more
As we reported previously, the U.S. Department of the Interior (Department) issued a letter on August 6, indicating it had declined to take action regarding Florida’s state-tribal gaming compact (the Compact) within the...more
On May 19, 2021, the Florida legislature approved a 30-year deal granting the Seminole Indian Tribe (Tribe) exclusive rights to operate sports betting in the state. While the Tribal Gaming Compact received bipartisan support...more
This week: the Ninth Circuit elaborates on the Indian Gaming Regulation Act’s “two-step determination” regarding the effects of a new casino on tribal land and clarifies when a post-certification class action settlement...more
President Trump has declared a national emergency as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and more than 30 States have made emergency declarations in response to COVID-19. Governors of the States of...more
For over 20 years, the State of California has used tribal gaming compacts to accomplish what federal law and tribal sovereignty would otherwise forbid: forcing tribes to follow state labor law in their casinos. Recently...more