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
By Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier and Kelsey Haake In a momentous decision on June 6, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a resounding victory for Native American tribes. The Court ruled that the Indian Health Service (IHS)...more
In the recent Arizona federal court case, Xia v. Harrah’s Arizona Corp., five individuals, Jie Xia, Necy Sundquist, Mary Grace Abon, Susan Samons, and Maria Henry (Plaintiffs), brought wrongful termination, discrimination,...more
In a significant legal development, the Alaska Supreme Court recently expanded tribal sovereign immunity to include tribal consortiums, overturning a precedent set two decades ago. The groundbreaking decision of Ito v. Copper...more
Just before the University of Connecticut’s and the University of South Carolina’s wins in March Madness, Louisiana issued a major change to college sports betting. Starting August 1, 2024, Louisiana’s Gaming Control Board...more
Generally, tribal lands held in trust by the federal government are exempt from state and local taxation under Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (the Act). However, when non-Indians are involved in ownership...more
3/27/2024
/ Appeals ,
AZ Supreme Court ,
Commercial Leases ,
Economic Development ,
Indian Reorganization Act ,
Preemption ,
Property Ownership ,
Property Tax ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tribal Economic Development Projects ,
Tribal Lands
In the complex landscape of Indigenous rights and jurisdiction, the question of tribal authority over Alaska Native allotments has long been a subject of legal debate. The recent Opinion known as Partial Withdrawal of...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 29, 2024, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Lexington Insurance Co. v. Smith (Suquamish Tribe). The Court affirmed the tribal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction over Lexington pursuant to the Tribe’s...more
3/8/2024
/ Appeals ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Federal Court Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Reservation of Rights ,
SCOTUS ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Surplus Lines Insurance ,
Tribal Courts
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 contract dispute between CHR Solutions Inc. and Gila River Telecommunications Inc., a business entity wholly owned and operated by the Gila River Indian Community (“GRIC”), the question of tribal sovereign immunity and...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
1/23/2024
/ Appeals ,
Bodily Injury ,
Casinos ,
Damages ,
Immunity ,
Indian Gaming ,
Indian Gaming Regulation Act ,
Jurisdiction ,
State Law Tort Claims ,
Termination Clauses ,
Tribal Lands ,
Tribal-State Gaming Compacts
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), in an effort to improve and streamline the tribal land acquisition application process, recently announced changes to the pertinent federal regulations, 25 CFR Part 151. Prior to the...more