Indian Gaming Now

Law

Waiting on Kialegee and Broken Arrow Casino . . . .

May 15 2012
A federal district court hearing starts tomorrow on the Kialegee's casino project in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  As the Tulsa World reports, the state Attorney General will seek an injunction against the tribe to stop construction of the casino.  The state is expected to argue that the land on which the casino is being built does not qualify as "Indian lands" under IGRA.  The tribe is expected to counter that it is building a casino, not conducting gaming, and so any alleged violations of IGRA are not yet ripe.

Report from IMGL Spring Conference

May 11 2012
Steve and Kathryn recently returned from the Spring Conference of the International Masters of Gaming Law, held in Scottsdale, AZ, in April.  The IMGL is an outstanding organization, with global membership of the best gaming attorneys, regulators, consultants, and educators.  The Spring Conference, planned by John Roberts and John Maloney, included excellent panels on two tracks: legalized gambling around the world, and I

Follow Up on Carcieri Impacts: This One's for Rick

Apr 13 2012
We recently received a question from our pen pal Rick as a follow up to our post on Carcieri.  (By the way, keep the questions and comments coming -- we love to hear from academics, practitioners, community members, and anyone else with an interest in tribal gaming law and policy!)

Rick asks whether the bottom line of Carcieri is that newly recognized tribes (that is, tribes recognized after 1934, the date of the federal Indian Reorganization Act) should continue to be allowed to gain trust lands through the Secretary, but should be disallowed from operating gaming on those lands.

Kathryn & Steve Quoted in Indian Country Today Article

Apr 10 2012
We're quoted in this Indian Country Today article on Internet gaming.  In the April 2 article, headlined "States and Feds Race to Get Internet Gaming Legislation; Indian Country Must Be Prepared," ICT reporter Gale Courey Toensing reports that federal legalization of online gaming is on the horizon.  As we've advocated in a recent article, tribes should be prepared to deal with this issue not only as gaming operators, but as tribal governments and policymakers.  Here's our qu

Kathryn & Steve Quoted in Indian Country Today Article

Kathryn & Steve's UNLV Faculty Lecture Podcast

Mar 31 2012
Kathryn&Steve visited the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in March.  We guest lectured on tribal gaming law and policy in a Federal Indian Law class, met with the student Gaming Law Society, and presented a faculty lecture on legal education and gaming law and policy.  A podcast of our faculty lecture, which connects tribal gaming, the practice of gaming law, professionalism, and legal education, is available at http://gaming.unlv.edu/podcast.html .

Thanks to David Schwartz with the UNLV Center for Gaming Research for hosting the podcast!

What's the Difference Between "Under Federal Jurisdiction" and Federal Recognition?

Mar 30 2012
We recently were posed with the question, "What's the difference between a federally recognized tribe and one that is under federal jurisdiction?"  The question, of course, implicates the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The Carcieri case turned on the Court's interpretation of the extent of authority granted to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior under the federal Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.  Through the IRA, Congress delegated authority to the Secretary to take lands into trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe.  The statute defines "Indian" as "all persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction."