US Supreme Court May Legalize Tribal Gaming in Texas, Potentially Opening Doors

The Biden giving medication is pushing the US Supreme Court to agnise the gaming rights of ii Texas tribes, the Tigua and Alabama Coushatta. But according to Native American gaming experts, the display case could make the knock-on core of legitimizing Class II casinos for tribes not only if in Texas, but other states ilk Maine, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

As reported past Casino.org last week, Acting US Solicitor General Brian Fletcher latterly wrote to the Supreme Court, recommending it get hold of upward the case. In his memo, dated Aug 25, Fletcher said a previous federal court ruling that barred the tribes from offering gaming was “an error.”

He urged the Supreme Court to pitch clarity on issues that make “impaired the uniformity of a federal regulatory scheme, [and] has uniquely disadvantaged 2 Red Indian tribes.”

Following the solicitor general’s memo, the court of justice is now almost certain to take upwardly the case.

Decades-Long Fight

The II tribes get been entangled inward a sound scrap with the land of Texas over gaming for decades. That’s because the 1986 federal roleplay that recognized their sovereign position and restored their lands, the Yselta del Sur Pueblo [Tigua] and Heart of Dixie and Coushatta Indian Tribes of TX Restoration Act (TRA), contained clauses barring the tribes from gaming operations.

Two years later, U.S. Congress passed the Amerind Gaming Regulatory Act. This naturalized a regulatory fabric for Native American casinos and saved a tribe’s right hand to tender Class II gaming on its sovereign land. That’s provided those lands were set inward a say where such gaming was permitted for any purpose.

In 1994, the Fifth Circuit ruled the Tigua’s gaming rights were governed by TRA, non IGRA. That prevented them, and by file name extension the Alabama-Coushatta, from gap casinos. It is this ruling the Justice Department wants the Supreme Margaret Court to review.

If the Supreme Court takes the case, and if it finds for the tribe, so every other tribe that currently is foreclosed from offering gaming because of a pre-IGRA law of nature would get a foundation for arguing that the Court’s new decision supports their getting gambling,” Nova Southeastern University Law professor Bob Jarvis told Casino.org.

“I conceive this would follow a quite fair result, because no 1 at the clip of these laws could get foreseen the advent of IGRA,” he added.

Far-Reaching Impact

Jarvis notes the Catawba federation of tribes of South Carolinas would not fall down into this category, because they specifically in agreement(p) to waive IGRA. However, a positive degree Supreme Court ruling would beef up the gaming claims of tribes inwards Maine, the like the Passamaquoddy, the Penobscot River Nation, and the Aroostook Band of Mikmaq Indians.

This could apply, too, to Rhode Island’s Narragansett Amerindic Tribe, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head inwards Massachusetts. The latter has has been trying to catch its Aquinnah Cliffs Casino cancelled the earth for years.

Speaking to El Paso Matters shoemaker's last week, Lord Todd Curry, a University of Texas at El Paso political science professor, said the betting odds the Supreme Court would side with the Tigua were good.

Regarding the merits, i can buoy depend Little Joe votes easily for [the Tigua],” Curry said, citing the court’s ternion more liberal members and Justice Neil Gorsuch. “Among the other fivesome justices, none really have strong preferences on Indigenous practice of law issues, so i surmise at to the lowest degree ane of them testament live convinced past either the solicitor superior general or Gorsuch, and that is the globe game.”

Hurdles Remain

Such a ruling would not follow an prompt dark-green lightness for tribes remote of Texas to wave out gaming operations. For sure tribes, illegal impediments would remain.

One such hurdle is a 2009 US Supreme Court ruling known as “the Carcieri decision.” This held that the federal authorities could non get hold of dry land into trustfulness for tribes that were non “under federal jurisdiction” inward 1934, when US Congress passed the American Indian Reorganization Act.

The determination related specifically to solid ground acquired by the Narragansett inward Rhode Island, which was officially recognized in 1983. It was recently used to derail the Mashpee Wampanoag’s efforts to establish the $1 1000000000000 First Light Casino inward Taunton, Massachusetts.

In several cases, Congress has passed laws to free tribes from the Carcieri decision.