Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
The Seneca Nation of Indians moved under Section 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to vacate certain arbitration awards issued in favor of the state of New York, finding that Seneca must pay the state millions in...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
For the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), time may have finally run out on their continued efforts to operate a gaming facility on Martha’s Vineyard. Tomorrow, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit,...more
In the United States, Indian gaming is a $29 billion industry, with some 240 American Indian tribes operating more than 450 gaming operations in 28 states. Alan Meister, Casino City’s Indian Gaming Industry Report (2016). In...more
The wait is over and the decision is in. On Thursday, April 28, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 4-1 against awarding a commercial license to Mass Gaming & Entertainment, LLC to build a resort casino in Brockton....more
It has been nearly five years since Massachusetts legalized casino gambling, but the state is still without an operating resort casino. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, MGM Resorts International, and Wynn Resorts are all chomping...more
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (“MGC”) hosted a community meeting on March 1, 2016 to hear public input regarding Mass Gaming & Entertainment, LLC’s proposal to build a $677 million commercial casino in Brockton. As...more
California’s Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe, also known as Enterprise Rancheria, has said it will begin construction of a scaled-down Class II gaming facility in Yuba County, instead of the Class III facility that has been opposed...more
A federal district court in New Mexico has issued a decision finding that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s regulations permitting the Secretary of the Interior to adopt Class III gaming procedures for a tribe lacking a...more
Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians v. Brown, C074506 (9/24/2014) - In a recent Third District Court of Appeal published opinion, the court in Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians v. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (3rd....more
The Pueblo of Pojoaque needs a new Class III gaming compact by June 2015 in order to continue operating its casinos which are located north of Santa Fe. However, the Pueblo objected to the financial concessions being demanded...more
In This Issue: - INDIAN COUNTRY AWAITS 9TH CIRCUIT’S EN BANC REHEARING IN BIG LAGOON CASE: In January, a split 9th Circuit panel shocked Indian Country with its holding in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. California that...more