The Tulalip Tribes in a federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals complaint say Washington State violated its gaming compact by giving more favorable terms to the Spokane Tribe.
Tulalip Tribes claims the state gives better lease rates for lottery terminals to the Spokane Tribe, which violates the gaming compact requiring the state to give the same rates to the Tulalip. The compact allows the Tulalip Tribes to operate 975 terminals with up to 4,000 allowed when buying the rights to them from other tribes.
The Spokane Tribe in 2007 joined the state gaming compact, but there were very few lottery gaming terminals available, the Tulalip argue. So the state allowed the Spokane Tribe to obtain them via other means, which the Tulalip says violates the compact by giving the Spokane Tribe more favorable terms.
The Tulalip Tribes lost an initial federal suit against the state after U.S. District Judge Richard Jones ruled the Tulalip were trying to “cherry-pick” the gaming compact’s benefits, Courthouse News Service reported.
The Tulalip appealed the decision earlier this month.
