The Enterprise Rancheria of northern California announced last week that it will begin construction of a Class II casino, one-third the size of the one originally envisioned in Yuba County. The tribe can, by right, build a Class II casino, but it had encountered opposition by local gaming tribes, and in the courts, and in the state legislature for its Class III casino. Its state tribal gaming compact is languishing in the legislature due to the fact that it is an off-reservation casino request.
The federal government agreed to put the land in Yuba County into trust in November 2012, but because of public opinion against off-reservation compacts lawmakers have not acted on the compact. Last November California voters rejected a compact with the North Fork and Wiyot Tribes because they wanted off-reservation casinos.
The Enterprise casino also faces opposition from the United Auburn Indian Community, operators of Thunder Valley casino, and the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians, operators of the Colusa Casino Resort. Both have sued the Department of the Interior for putting the land into trust. They claim that the decision violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and would injure neighboring tribes by “cannibalizing” the existing gaming market.
