Class III

Florida Seminole Tribe to Seek Compact through Secretarial Procedures

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Orlando Sentinel:

After the Legislature voted down a proposed revenue-sharing deal Thursday, the Seminole Tribe will now turn to the federal government for authority to run its casinos that feature slots and blackjack, tribe attorney Barry Richard said in an interview.

Richard said that the tribe remains open to negotiate more with the Legislature, but “we’ve reached the conclusion that it’s time to begin looking at other options.”

“We made a vigorous effort to work this out,” he said. “We had two separate compacts with the governor. We made giant strides toward negotiation with the Legislature. It’s disappointing – the tribe can’t continue to wait forever.”

The tribe will enter a formal process known as “procedures,” in which it will ask the federal government for authorization to keep its blackjack tables open, even though there’s no compact in place to allow such table games. Continue reading →

Crosby Lodge v. NIGC — Facial Challenge to 25 CFR 522.10(c) Rejected

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Crosby Lodge is licensed by Paiute Lake Indian tribe to conduct Class III gaming. Under the regulation, they owe at least 60 percent of revenues to the tribe. The company challenged the reg, and lost.

nigc-motion-for-summary-judgment

crosby-lodge-opposition

nigc-reply-brief

crosby-lodge-v-nigc-dct-opinion

Ho-Chunk Nation v. Wisconsin Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Ho-Chunk Nation has filed a cert petition in its dispute over revenue sharing with the State of Wisconsin.

Here is the petition — hcn-cert-petition

Here is the docket site — No. 07-1402.

Here are the rest of the materials — CA7 opinion and some briefs — rest of the materials.

NIGC Releases Economic Study of Proposed Class II Regulations

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

 NIGC Releases Economic Impact Study for Proposed Class II Regulations

 WashingtonDC, February 1, 2008 — The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) today released an economic impact study in connection with its recently proposed Class II gaming regulations. The study was prepared by Dr. Alan Meister of the Analysis Group and follows a November 2006 study he did for the Commission on an earlier proposal.

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NIGC Extends Comment Period on New Regs to March

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

NIGC extends comment period on Class II initiatives

Tribes have until March 9 to comment on the four controversial Class II initiatives proposed by the National Indian Gaming Commission. In notices published today in the Federal Register, the NIGC extended the comment period on the following: classification standards for bingo, pull tabs and similar games; a definition of electronic Class II games; minimum internal control standards for Class II games and technical standards for Class II games. The NIGC says the rules will clarify the difference between Class II games like bingo and Class III games like slot machines. Technological advances have blurred the lines. “Class II gaming has been the bedrock of Indian gaming and continues to play a vital role in the expanding industry. In order to preserve and respect the importance of Class II gaming, we are moving forward keeping all comments in mind and will act in a way to distinguish Class II gaming from Class III gaming,” NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen said.

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