The Cayuga Nation in upstate New York filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of New York complaining that the New York State Gaming Commission permits unlawful gambling on their land.
Defendants include the commission and Jackpocket Inc.
“The Nation is authorized by the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 to exclusively regulate the conduct of gaming on Indian lands, pre-empting any state regulations,” the lawsuit says.
In 2003, the National Indian Gaming Commission approved the Cayuga Nation to run gaming operations on their land. Today, those operations include a quartet of Class II gaming casinos, electronic bingo and more.
“In contravention of the Nation’s exclusive right to conduct gaming within the Nation’s reservation, the state has licensed numerous lottery and instant-game terminals within the reservation,” the Nation said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. “Yet such gaming requires approval by the NIGC and under federal law, an agreement between the state and Nation calls for the Nation to receive at least 60 percent of the net revenue from the state licensed games available on the tribal land.”
The lawsuit claims the commission issued a license to Jackpocket Inc. to sell New York state lottery tickets within reservation lands on mobile devices “allowing the violations to reach a larger number of New Yorkers.”
Clint Halftown, a member of the Cayuga Nation’s governing council and the tribe’s federally recognized representative, told the Finger Lake Times the Nation “has robust gaming operations throughout the reservation and uses the revenue to provide life changing government benefits to Cayuga citizens. New York State’s practice of authorizing lotteries on reservation land causes grave concern to the Nation’s rights and ability to provide for Nation citizens.“
