Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
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
Last week, in West Flagler v. Haaland, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to opponents of online tribal sports betting, effectively affirming the D.C. Circuit’s rejection of a challenge to a compact between 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
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
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
On June 30, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland. This will allow, at least for the present, the Seminole Tribe...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 U.S. District Court of Washington decided all bets are off for Maverick Gaming LLC regarding its challenge to tribal casinos. Last week, Judge David Estudillo dismissed Maverick’s suit, which challenged a state law...more
On February 10, 2023, the Honorable Judge Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts ruled that the U.S. Department of the Interior acted legally when it took into trust 321 acres of land (two noncontiguous...more
Recent proposed regulations seek to streamline and reduce costs for tribal land into trust applications and clarify parameters for negotiation and approval of tribal-state gaming compacts. The administrative process by...more
On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas, No. 20-493, holding that Texas cannot prohibit a federally recognized Native American tribe from engaging in certain gambling activities under...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 more states take steps to legalize sports betting, all eyes are on the nation’s most heavily populated state — California. Unlike many of the states where sports betting is – or will soon be – legal, California’s...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
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
On January 16, 2020, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued its decision in Mendoza v. Isleta Resort and Casino, holding that a tribe does not waive its sovereign immunity to workers’ compensation claims merely by committing in...more
During the 2018 midterm elections, Arkansas voters weighed in on Issue 4, a referendum to amend their state constitution to allow full-scale casino gambling. Voters approved the measure by an 8.2% percent margin....more
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision last Tuesday affirmed the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Patchak v. Zinke, holding that Congress through the Gun Lake Act, which reaffirms...more
On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Patchak v. Zinke, No. 16-498. No opinion commanded a majority of the Court, but six justices concluded that the plaintiff’s lawsuit under the Indian...more
The Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision in Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (Nos. 16-476, 16-477) will have profound implications for sports betting in the United States and will potentially open the door...more
HIGHLIGHTS: •In a recent case before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe v. Gerlach, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe (Tribe) won a partial, but significant, victory...more
Just recently, Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes released a letter from the Interior Department, their latest salvo in a struggle with MGM Resorts International over a new casino in the state. The letter has the...more
On April 25, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Lewis v. Clarke, a case involving tribal sovereign immunity. The Court held that when a tribal employee is sued in his or her individual capacity, that...more