Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that tribal officials could not claim sovereign immunity or qualified immunity from potential liability for failure to remit taxes on cigarette sales to the State of...more
A recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in Southern Ute Indian Tribe et al. v. Polis et al., provides clarification on the extent of state authority to regulate online sports betting...more
On October 9, 2025, the Washington Supreme Court held that tribal sovereign immunity cannot be abrogated through in rem jurisdiction over tribally owned non-reservation lands to vest the court with subject matter jurisdiction...more
In the vast majority of U.S. States, the federal government may hold designated reservation lands in trust for tribes. However, Alaska presents a challenge to legal interpretation of gaming rights and jurisdiction....more
Across U.S. sports betting markets, Kalshi remains a topic of debate. The core question: does Kalshi legally offer sports event contracts within federally regulated financial prediction markets, or does Kalshi operate illegal...more
9/22/2025
/ Appeals ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Gambling ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Jurisdiction ,
Native American Issues ,
Online Gaming ,
Pending Litigation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities Regulation ,
Sports Betting ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tribal-State Gaming Compacts
California courts have certainly been busy as of late. In particular, challenges abound as to the Department of the Interior (the DOI) and its decisions to take certain parcels of land into trust for the purpose of rendering...more
On June 30, 2025, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in an Arizona taxation case involving tribal sovereignty and preemption. South Point Energy Center, LLC (South Point) submitted a Petition for a Writ of...more
A recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in Liveious et al. v. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. et al., highlights a critical and often overlooked issue in federal civil litigation: the...more
Recent litigation to determine the status of the Shiloh parcel for the Koi Nation of Northern California (Koi) could result in resounding implications for tribal gaming, including the Department of Interior (DOI)...more
Recent events around the country indicate that online sweepstakes are facing increasing scrutiny and concerns from legislatures, regulators and others.
“Montana just criminalized everyday digital promotions with a law so...more
The United States Supreme Court will consider whether to review the legality of the Washington tribal gaming compacts as a result of a petition for writ of certiorari (cert) filed in the lawsuit, Maverick Gaming LLC v. United...more
Earlier this month, the State of California (the State) and Governor Gavin Newsom filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking to vacate the Department of the Interior’s (the...more
5/15/2025
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
California ,
Casinos ,
Gambling ,
Government Agencies ,
Indian Gaming ,
Judicial Review ,
Native American Issues ,
State Sovereignty ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tribal Governments
California has become a battlefield for state versus tribal governance. As of May 6, 2025, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians (Morongo Band), a federally recognized Indian Tribe located in the State of California, filed suit...more
The State of Alaska (the “State” or “Alaska”) is asking a D.C. federal judge to bar an Alaska Native tribe from operating a gaming hall in Anchorage while the State challenges federal authorization for the facility. The State...more
“Defendants [California card rooms] operate, participate in, and facilitate illegal gambling,” according to a complaint filed on April 1, 2025, by the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians (the Rincon Band) and the Santa Ynez Band...more
The case of Lexington Insurance Company v. Suquamish Tribe has emerged as a pivotal legal battle concerning the extent of tribal jurisdiction over nonmembers. This case, which has reached the Supreme Court, challenges the...more
The State of Alaska (the State) has embarked on a significant legal journey, filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) and the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). This lawsuit...more
In a historic move, President Donald J. Trump has signed a presidential memorandum directing the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to secure full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. This...more
Nearly one hundred (100) “[d]efendants brazenly profit from illegal gambling” in California, according to a legal complaint filed by seven (7) casino-owning Native American tribes in the Superior Court of California in...more
1/15/2025
/ CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Illegal Gambling ,
Indian Gaming ,
Jurisdiction ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Native American Issues ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Standing ,
Tribal Governments
A Nebraska tribe’s tobacco businesses are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in HCI Distribution Inc., et al. v. Michael T. Hilgers, et al. This decision concluded that the...more
In Lexington Insurance Co. v. Mueller, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision regarding the jurisdiction of the Cabazon Reservation Court in a dispute between Lexington Insurance Company and...more
On October 3, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion finding that arbitration agreements consumers entered into with a Tribal entity contained enforceable delegation provisions, meaning that an arbitrator, rather than a...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
In a momentous legal development, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason has vacated and remanded a decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to place a 787-square-foot parcel of land in downtown Juneau into...more
On June 10, 2024, the Ninth Circuit entered an opinion finding that the Choctaw Nation had expressly waived its sovereign immunity against arbitration, determining that the contractual provision between the Nation and...more