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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
• The Supreme Court in Murphy v. NCAA ruled 7-2 that a federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting violated the constitutional rule that the federal government may not “commandeer” the states. • The...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
It’s ‘play on’ for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). On April 10, a First Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel weighed in on the nearly three-and-a-half-year dispute between the Tribe and the Commonwealth, 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
The Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”; 25 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.) allows gaming on Indian lands acquired by the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) in trust for a tribe’s benefit after October 17, 1988, if, among...more
In Jamul Action Committee v. Chaudhuri, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the National Indian Gaming Commission (Commission) did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when...more
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) continues its efforts to add casino bingo to the summer getaways and lobster rolls on Martha’s Vineyard. In November 2015, Massachusetts, the town of Aquinnah, and the Aquinnah/Gay...more