In the latest chapter in the more than 20-year legal battle between the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, or Tigua Tribe, and the state of Texas, on February 14, U.S. District Judge Philip Martinez ruled the tribe’s gaming operations at its Speaking Rock Entertainment Center in El Paso violate Texas law. The tribe and the state of Texas have been embroiled in legal battles over gambling for more than 20 years.
A trial date had been set for March 4 but Martinez issued a summary judgment instead and granted the state’s request for a permanent injunction. He gave the state and the tribe until March 1 to suggest how the injunction should happen. The tribe filed documents noting it might appeal, and argued a permanent injunction was not necessary, since they would comply with the February 14 order.
The tribe declared, “The failure to issue an injunction will not result in irreparable injury because bingo operations on the Pueblo will either be modified or discontinued pursuant to the terms of the Court’s final order.” The casino still is operating.
Judge Martinez said, “The Court is cognizant that an injunction will have a substantial impact on the Pueblo community. Accordingly, the Court joins the refrain of judges who have urged the tribes bound by the Restoration Act to petition Congress to modify or replace the Restoration Act if they would like to conduct gaming on the reservation.” Under the Restoration Act, the Tigua Tribe was allowed to offer games that were not banned in the state of Texas, so the Tiguas introduced bingo-style games, which now are the focus of legal activities.
Martinez ruled the bingo-style games violate state law for several reasons: 1) Under state law, the Tigua Tribe is required to obtain a license to conduct bingo from the Texas Lottery Commission, which the Tigua Tribe has not done. 2) The law also allows bingo to be played during 4-hour sessions, three times a week, but the Tigua Tribe’s machines and live bingo game operate 24/7. The state argued that exceeds the volume of charitable bingo authorized by Texas law.3) In addition, according to state law, any bingo card-minding device must be tested by an independent testing facility or the Lottery Commission’s own testing lab. The Tigua Tribe uses its own independent facility, but the state determined that facility doesn’t evaluate the machines for compliance with Texas law. Instead the state said the standards the facility tests have been approved by the Pueblo Regulatory Commission.
Martinez said he is aware of the impact the injunction to close Speaking Rock could have on the Tigua community.
In 2017, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Tigua tribe alleging the games at Speaking Rock violated state law. The Tiguas have always billed their games as legal “games of chance.”
