Editorial: IGRA a 'crap shoot' for Massachusetts

Monday, February 11, 2008  

"Efforts by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to place its planned casino site in Middleborough in a federal trust are more likely to end in a drawn-out fight than a healthy payoff for either the tribe or the residents of Massachusetts. The Patrick administration is right to resist the Wampanoags' efforts and to encourage the tribe instead to bid for a state-issued casino license.

The 1988 law, known as IGRA, provides the statutory framework for tribal gambling. But what, if anything, gets built on that framework is far from predictable. It often takes years for an Indian casino proposal to wind its way through the Department of Interior. More complicated still is the requirement that the tribe and the state negotiate a compact that can cover oversight, payments in lieu of taxes, and methods to handle civil and criminal matters. Such negotiations often break down when one side accuses the other of failure to negotiate in good faith.

The bramble of IGRA-related court cases should serve as a warning. Some decisions place few restrictions on the kinds of gambling that tribes can offer on their land, including full-fledged casinos in states where slots and table games are prohibited. Other decisions leave the tribe with little recourse if it believes a state has failed to negotiate in good faith. One day, the wind blows toward tribal self-determination. The next day, it shifts in the direction of state sovereign immunity. And the secretary of the Interior, not a state's elected officials, calls the final shot.

The federal law is too big a crap shoot. Massachusetts - and the tribe - can do better."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Patrick gets tough over casinos (The Boston Globe 2/11)

Related Stories:
Tribe approves land deal with Mashpee (The Cape Cod Times 2/11)
Patrick's stance irks some in town (The Boston Globe 2/10)
No bluffing on casino question (MetroWest Daily News 2/9)
Governor uses Indian casino bid to trumpet his own (AP 2/9)
Tribe to add $250,000 payment for casino plans (The Brockton Enterprise 2/8)