Embroiled in a battle with the state of New York, the Seneca Nation has requested a federal judge delay an arbitration panel’s order to hand over $500 million in casino payments to New York. The payments were withheld over language in the Seneca’s 2002 gaming compact.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has also asked the National Indian Gaming Commission to review the panel’s 2020 ruling as a possible violation of federal laws, according to the Salamanca Press.
“The questions and concerns surrounding the Compact arbitration remain part of an ongoing legal action,” Seneca President Matthew Pagels said. “Specifically, there are questions over whether the payments imposed by the arbitration panel violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. These significant questions must be answered definitively so that the Nation and the state can move forward.”
The Senecas operate casinos in Salamanca, Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The gaming exclusivity pact promised in return for a share of the slot machine revenue never met tribal expectations given competition from three racetracks with video gaming and two commercial casinos just outside the exclusivity zone.
The Seneca Nation began withholding the 25 percent share of slot machine revenues four years ago claiming the gaming pact renewed for seven years did not include continuing payments to the state.
The nation paid the state about $1 billion through the first 14 years of the pact. The city of Salamanca, the Salamanca City School District and Cattaraugus County received a portion of that money. The Senecas often paid Cattaraugus County more than $1 million a year, which went toward covering the loss of property taxes on tribal property.
The nation asked U.S. District Judge William Skretny last week to delay the arbitration award due to the concerns expressed by the Interior Department and National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGA).
NIGA commissioners are investigating the dispute, Chief Compliance Officer Thomas Cunningham said. The commission could direct further investigation or possible “corrective action.”
A spokesman for Governor Kathy Hochul said the delay caused by the federal agencies “does not circumvent the judgment or avoid its clear obligations to the state and the communities that will benefit from the nation making their revenue sharing payment.”
The nation lost the binding arbitration case by a 2-1 margin and two federal judges in Buffalo ruled afterward that the nation must abide by the arbitration ruling.
