One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas could continue to operate its electronic bingo venue, Naskila Casino, which opened in 2016. The Court ruled the state does not have the authority to prohibit electronic bingo on tribal lands, since state law does not prohibit electronic bingo.
The case, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas, benefited both the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas in Livingston, which both operate electronic bingo facilities on their reservations.
Ricky Sylestine, chairman of the tribal council of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, told Bluebonnet News, “The Supreme Court decision ended years of uncertainty for the tribe and for Naskila. It was not easy protecting our tribal sovereignty against the powerful elected officials in Texas. However, we had no choice and the Supreme Court decision confirmed that we were doing the right thing for our people and for the people who depend on Naskila Casino for their livelihoods.”
In 2022, Naskila Casino generated $212 million in revenue for Polk County according to a Texas Forest Country Partnership report prepared by the economic analysis firm TXP. The study found Naskila Casino has created 825 permanent local jobs, including 400 casino jobs, with a total payroll of $22.5 million.
Now the tribe is seeking, through the U.S. Congress, to be eligible for gaming regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Earlier this year, U.S. Congressman Morgan Luttrell introduced the Tribal Gaming Regulatory Compliance Act, which would ensure that all federally recognized tribes that are eligible for gaming are regulated under IGRA.
Currently, the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo are not regulated under IGRA. An identical measure has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. House of Representatives previously has approved similar legislation but those measures died in the U.S. Senate. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has urged Senators to not support legislation that would regulate tribes under IGRA.
