"The Seneca Nation and State of New York are currently embroiled in arbitration to resolve the Nation's claim that the State violated the negotiated Tribal-State Class III Gaming Compact by allowing non- Indian land-based gaming within its Class III gaming exclusivity zone. The Nation is withholding payments to the State and local governments pending a full resolution of the dispute, and the battle is escalating as local communities feel the effects of the withholdings.

Of probable impact on the Seneca/New York dispute is last December's Department of Justice ("DOJ") opinion that the Wire Act does not apply to non-sports betting. That opinion has set the wheels in motion for New York to regulate, license and sponsor internet gaming ("i-gaming") to rescue plunging state revenues.

The DOJ opinion expressly sanctioned New York's proposed sales of lottery tickets on the Internet, and it is generally assumed that some legislative action is sure to follow. The consensus is that legalized i-gaming is inevitable, either via state-regulated intrastate gaming platforms or interstate gaming under a federal regulatory framework. The Seneca Nation stands only to lose unless it is included."

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Patrick Sullivan: Seneca Nation v. New York: Issues And Ramifications (Mondaq.com 10/5)
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