The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled the state of Kansas could not challenge a letter from the National Indian Gaming Commission declaring the Quapaw Tribe could use ancestral land in the state for gaming. “In short, the letter merely expresses an advisory, non-binding opinion, without any legal effect on the status quo ante,” Judge Carlos F. Lucero wrote in the 18-page decision.
The gaming portion of the tribe’s Downstream Casino Resort is on Oklahoma, and its parking lot and other facilities are located in Kansas and Missouri. Kansas sued the tribe when it announced plans in late 2014 to build a $15 million expansion casino portion on a 124-acre parcel in that state.
The parcel, known as the “Quapaw Strip,” was acquired by the tribe in 2012. In the past, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act banned gaming on tribal lands acquired after 1988. The NIGC letter said the tribe qualified for an exception in Section 20 of the law that applies to a “last recognized reservation.” The NIGC letter marks a first in the history of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The Quapaws have not yet broken ground on the expansion. Kansas has refused to negotiate a Class III gaming compact with the tribe. Class III games are authorized on the Oklahoma portion.
