Arkansas Court Rejects Casino Initiative Suit
Arkansas’ Supreme Court Oct. 14 rejected part of a lawsuit about a Pope County casino license ballot initiative regarding signature gathering practices. Then on Oct. 17 it rejected the remaining part, arguing that its language and wording are valid.
So, that means that voters will have the opportunity to vote on Issue 2, which would revoke a casino license that was earlier awarded to Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE).
Voters in 2018 agreed to allow legal sports betting and four new land-based casinos in the state. Three of the casinos, in Crittenden, Garland and Jefferson counties have been licensed and are either operational or under construction. But the Pope County location has been under fire from the start. The court ruled that signature gathering for the proposal was legal and not grounds to remove the initiative. Now it has ruled that the wording is also valid.
Per US News & World Report, the battle over the initiative has pitted the Cherokee Nation, which wants the initiative to be removed from the ballot, against Oklahoma’s Choctaw Nation. That tribe supports the initiative because if it passes, Arkansans will continue to cross the border into Oklahoma to gamble at Choctaw locations.
Alabama Tribal Casino Lawsuit Revived by Appeals Court
A longstanding legal battle between Oklahoma’s Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians was revived by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 11. The three-judge panel sent the matter back to the trial court and directed the judge to conduct a “claim by claim” analysis of whether Poarch officials have sovereign immunity that would prevent the suit.
At issue is the Poarch’s Wind Creek Casino in Wetumpka, Ala., which the Muscogees has long argued was built on a sacred burial ground, known as Hickory Ground. The Poarchs bought the land in 1980 through a historic preservation grant, and the Muscogees allege that the tribe and federal officials breached that agreement by developing the casino on the land.
According to the Associated Press, the Muscogee Chief David Hill said the decision “reaffirms our Nation’s sacred and historical ties to Hickory Ground, while also affirming our sovereign right to seek justice against federal agencies and other entities that violated the laws protecting this sacred land.”
In response, a Poarch spokeswoman said the tribe remains “confident in our position. Our focus continues to be on protecting the interests of the Poarch Creek community and upholding our sovereign rights.”
Tribes: Sweepstakes an Existential Threat
Angry and concerned that sweepstakes operators are another existential threat to sovereignty and gaming exclusivity, Indian Country is gearing up for a fight.
“This falls squarely on the tribes again,” Victor Rocha, editor of Pechanga.net, said during his weekly webinar Oct. 16, per iGB. “If they don’t react, no one will. We thought it was over, but here we go again. We’re not saying you can’t come into California, we’re just saying that you have to do it through the tribes.
“We will take on that fight anytime, anywhere, anyhow. It’s brand new, it’s right on our platter, and we’ll address it.”
Rocha, who hosts the “New Normal”, was joined by California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman James Siva and National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) executive director Jason Giles.
A week removed from the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) where sweepstakes were the talk of the industry, Rocha opened by sharing his anger and frustration that another group of “unlicensed” and “unregulated” gaming platforms were trying to make their way into what has become a highly regulated industry in 39 US jurisdictions.
MIGA Chief Says Wagering Deal in Place in Minnesota
After years of trying to broker a deal between stakeholders in Minnesota, Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) executive director Andy Platto shared Oct. 8 that a “framework that is currently supported by all stakeholders” is in place.
The next hurdle is political – Minnesota’s legislature may undergo changes next month on election day. Past efforts have gotten through the House, but not the Senate.
Platto was speaking on a Global Gaming Expo (G2E) panel entitled ‘Tribal Sovereignty and Sports Betting: A Delicate Balance’.
Platto, who heads up the state’s tribal alliance, has been the face and voice of Indian Country. Over time, that has meant managing relationships with charitable gaming folks, horse racetracks and, more recently, professional sports teams. The tribes in Minnesota have exclusivity for gaming in the state and already operate land-based casinos.
“This is as close as we have ever come,” Plato said. “And I can say that all current stakeholders (are on board), but that could change.”
Stitt Still a Sticking Point in Oklahoma
At the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) last week Matt Morgan, head of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA), said that while tribes are open to discussing the future of sports betting, they’ll stand still until Governor Kevin Stitt moves on or changes his position.
Stitt, who became Oklahoma’s governor in 2018, has had a difficult relationship with Indian country. He has been sued by lawmakers over compact negotiations and has alienated the tribes by trying to dictate what legal wagering will look like without considering sovereignty or exclusivity.
Oklahoma is the second biggest tribal market in the U.S. behind California and has a robust land-based casino industry. The state’s 39 tribes operate more than 125 gaming locations, including some that draw customers from neighboring Texas. But legal sports betting remains elusive.
New York Cities to Receive Funding from Seneca Casinos by Month’s End
On Oct.11, Spectrum News 1 reported that the cities of Buffalo, Salamanca and Niagara Falls will receive the funding that normally would’ve come from revenue sharing agreements with Seneca Nation casinos by the end of the month. The amounts, Gov. Hochul’s office said, will be “based on what the estimated payments would be from Dec. 10, 2023, to the end of June, roughly two quarters.”
Dec. 10 is when the Senecas’ compact with the state of New York expired, and the two sides have been operating on temporary extensions since that time. Instead of paying the funding directly to the state as before, the tribe had been putting the money in an escrow account.
In Other News …
Lincoln WarHorse Casino’s phase-two expansion is set to open Nov. 4, according to Nebraska Now. The expansion will include additional gaming tables and restaurant seating as well as horse-racing simulcasting. The size of the existing space will double.
