Indian Gaming Now

Kathryn/Steve Quoted Here

Mashpee & Masschusetts Announce Compact Agreement

Posted by Steven Light | Filed under:
Jul 12 2012
Tribal-state compacting is alive and well, it seems. The Mashpee Wampanoag and Massachusetts announced yesterday they've agreed on a compact that is another milestone on the way to legalized casino gambling in that state.

Steve is quoted in the Boston Globe on the key question about the compact's terms: whether the tribe's agreement to pay a 21.5% cut of gambling revenue to the state -- less than the 25% to be paid by commercial casino operators -- will overcome federal scrutiny.  As Steve asks, “The question will be, is 21.5 too high?”

A “Bolt from the Blue” from the Supreme Court

Posted by Kathryn and Steve | Filed under:
Feb 27 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court has laid down the law once again for Indian Country, holding that the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA) does not authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for tribes that were not under federal jurisdiction as of the date the IRA was enacted. The decision has major implications, as is discussed in the Boston Globe, in which Steve is quoted.

The 6-3 decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, No. 07-526 (Feb. 24, 2009) throws into doubt previous decisions by the Secretary to take land into trust for recently recognized tribes, including the Narragansetts in Rhode Island (who were the subject of the Court decision) and the Mashpee Wampanoag in Massachusetts (who have been hoping to build a $1 billion casino in Middleborough).

Carcieri concerned the Narragansetts’ argument that 31 acres of land it owns in Charleston, Rhode Island, should be placed in trust. Following an administrative decision that came down on the side of the Secretary, the state sued. Both a federal district court and the First Circuit found in favor of the tribe, but the Supreme Court reversed.

The Court’s analysis for the most part turned on its reading of the IRA’s statutory language, and the related application of basic principles of administrative law. The IRA authorizes the Secretary to take land into trust for the benefit of a “recognized Indian Tribe now under Federal jurisdiction.” The question of whether “now” means in 1934, or at the time the Secretary acts, had been held to be ambiguous enough by a lower court to merit deference to the Secretary under the Chevron doctrine (which requires a court to defer to an agency interpretation under such circumstances)—as had been the case for the last 75 years.

Hometown News Highlight

Posted by Kathryn and Steve | Filed under:
Jan 20 2009
Our hometown newspaper, the Grand Forks Herald, featured us on the front page this past Sunday. In a fairly wide-ranging piece, we opine about the future of Indian gaming in tough economic times.

And we're pictured in the new Gambling Behavior Lab at the University of North Dakota's Northern Plains Center for Behavioral Research. What a photo!

More on Indian gaming and the Economy

Posted by Kathryn and Steve | Filed under:
Jan 8 2009
Kathryn's quoted in this article about the recession's impacts on tribal gaming in Mississippi, where the Mississippi Band of Choctaw announced that its Pearl River Resort would lay off 570 workers and its Golden Moon Hotel and Casino would operate only on weekends.

Happy 20th Birthday, IGRA!

Posted by Kathryn and Steve | Filed under:
Oct 28 2008
Last Friday, Oct. 17, marked the 20th anniversary of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, signed into law by President Reagan in 1988. (As we've said in recent presentations on IGRA's anniversary, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . . . ") We were at a conference commemorating the anniversary (more on that later). In the meantime, here's some commentary:

Status Quo in Florida?

Posted by Kathryn and Steve | Filed under:
Oct 20 2008
Kathryn's quoted in this Tampa Tribune story on the aftermath of the Florida Supreme Court's decision invalidating a portion of the Seminoles' tribal-state compact. As we explained in a number of posts back in July (check our archives if you're interested in catching up!), the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Crist exceeded his state constitutional authority in authorizing banked card games through the tribal-state compact with the Seminoles.

The NYT McCain Article Has a Life of its Own

Posted by Kathryn and Steve | Filed under:
Oct 7 2008
The New York Times' investigative report on Senator McCain's ties to the gambling industry has been getting international attention since its publication last Sunday. The story was picked up by media outlets across the U.S., as well as by UPI and news outlets in the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Canada, Romania, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, and India, to name a few. It also has been the subject of blogs.