The Interior Department issued Class III gaming procedures on Wednesday for the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming.

Associate deputy secretary Jim Cason approved the tribe's request to conduct Class III gaming without a tribal-state compact. The decision is the first of its kind in the history of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. A similar decision involving a Nebraska tribe is still in litigation.

The tribe still needs an amendment to conduct the "full gamut" of Class III games. The tribe won the right to offer those games through a successful lawsuit [Wyoming tribe wins Class III gaming case again].

"This is a monumental achievement for our people and our future,” said Northern Arapaho Business Council Chairman Richard Brannan in a statement. "It’s our economic engine for jobs, growth, and services for our people. In fact, it will benefit everyone in central Wyoming."

The state had been refusing to negotiate for the full scale of games, prompting the lawsuit. The state has now agreed to negotiate with the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and will use the procedures as a template.

Get the Story:
Tribe, feds ink gaming deal (The Jackson Hole Star-Tribune 9/22)