IGRA – Page 34 – Turtle Talk

The plaintiffs, organizations and individuals who oppose the operation of a casino on land owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians in Buffalo, New York, filed an action in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York against the National Indian Gaming Commission, its Chairman, the Department of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Interior, arguing that the National Indian Gaming Commission acted arbitrarily and capriciously and abused its discretion in approving an ordinance that permitted the Seneca Nation to operate a class III gaming facility in Buffalo. The district court (Skretny, J.) dismissed the action, and the plaintiffs appealed. We hold that the Seneca Nation’s lands in Buffalo are gaming‐eligible under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”), 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2721, as “Indian lands” under the Seneca Nation’s jurisdiction and that IGRA Section 20’s prohibition of gaming on trust lands acquired after IGRA’s enactment, 25 U.S.C. § 2719(a), does not apply. Accordingly, we AFFIRM.

Briefs here.

Lower court materials here.

Navajo Nation Sues to Stop State Court Jurisdiction over Personal Injury Lawsuits Arising at Navajo Casinos

September 14, 2015August 5, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the complaint in Navajo Nation v. Marsh (D. N.M.):

1 Complaint

Edit: Amended Complaint

Eleventh Circuit Rules in Favor of Poarch Band in Gaming Dispute with Alabama

September 3, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in State of Alabama v. PCI Gaming Authority.

Briefs are here.

Idaho Supreme Court to hear arguments today in instant racing case

August 11, 2015August 11, 2015Andrew Adams III

Click here.

New Scholarship on the Economic Impact of IGRA

August 7, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Randall K. Q. Akee, Katherine A. Spilde, and Jonathan B. Taylor have published “The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and Its Effects on American Indian Economic Development” in the Journal of Economic Perspectives.

Here is the abstract:

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), passed by the US Congress in 1988, was a watershed in the history of policymaking directed toward reservation-resident American Indians. IGRA set the stage for tribal government-owned gaming facilities. It also shaped how this new industry would develop and how tribal governments would invest gaming revenues. Since then, Indian gaming has approached commercial, state-licensed gaming in total revenues. Gaming operations have had a far-reaching and transformative effect on American Indian reservations and their economies. Specifically, Indian gaming has allowed marked improvements in several important dimensions of reservation life. For the first time, some tribal governments have moved to fiscal independence. Native nations have invested gaming revenues in their economies and societies, often with dramatic effect.

PDF.