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Litigation | Openings & Closings

Alabama-Coushatta Tribe back in court to defend modest casino

Thursday, May 11, 2017

The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe is back in court to defend the legality of its gaming facility in Texas.

Naskila Gaming offers Class II games, which are normally out of the state's reach. But officials in Texas claim otherwise and are asserting jurisdiction there.

At issue is a provision in the Alabama-Coushatta Restoration Act of 1987 that has been interpreted to prohibit gaming on the reservation unless authorized by the state. But the Obama administration disagreed with that premise and determined that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 basically repealed the earlier law

“A fluke of timing,” was how Carlos Bullock, a former chairman of the tribe, described the situation to the Associated Press as the tribe and the state squared off at a hearing in federal court on Thursday.

A similar dispute is unfolding in Massachusetts, where a federal judge agreed with the Obama's interpretation of IGRA in a case involving the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe. The case is being appealed and the outcome might affect the Alabama-Coushatta casino.

Naskila opened in May 2016 and has returned more than 400 jobs to the reservation the AP reported. The tribe had been forced to shut down a Class III casino in 2002 due to litigation from the state.

Read More on the Story:
American Indian tribe fights Texas to keep bingo center open (AP 5/10)