A federal arbitration panel has ruled that New York’s Seneca Indian Nation owes the state $255 million for halting casino revenue-sharing payments two years ago.
The tribe immediately said it will appeal the decision to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“The arbitration panel’s members, instead of interpreting the clear language of the nation-state compact, took it upon themselves to effectively and materially amend the agreed-upon terms of the compact, and they did so without regard for federal law and required procedures that govern both the compact and the amendment process,” said Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong Sr.
The three-member arbitration panel, which included representatives of the tribe and the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said the federally mandated compact covering the Senecas’ gaming relationship with New York requires the tribe to continue paying the state 25 percent of the annual slot machine revenues from its casinos in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Salamanca. The Senecas stopped the payments in 2017, contending the 2002 compact does not specify that the tribe must continue sharing revenues after the deal’s 14th year. At that point, the tribe had sent more than $1 billion to the state.
“By exercising our right to request that the (DOI) review the amendment, the nation leadership is fulfilling our obligation to the Seneca people to always defend our sovereignty and the sanctity of our agreements,” Armstrong said.
Cuomo said he was not surprised.
“They had said they would honor the arbitration decision, and they signed a contract saying they would honor the arbitration decision,” the governor told The Buffalo News last week. “What does that mean? Apparently not much.”
