A ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals contained some harsh language for states trying to seek a share of tribal gaming revenues.
The ruling said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) negotiated in bad faith with the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians. He demanded a big chunk of casino revenues without making a meaningful concession, the court determined. "It is one thing to ask the tribes to contribute funds so the state is not left bearing the costs for gaming-related expenses; it is quite another to ask the tribes to help fix the state’s budget crisis," Judge Milan Smith Jr., a George W. Bush nominee, wrote for the majority. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act does not directly speak to the issue of revenue sharing. But it suggests that tribes might be asked to "defray the costs" of regulating gaming and might have to share revenues "comparable to amounts assessed by the state for comparable activities." The BIA has approved Class III gaming compacts with revenue-sharing rates as high as 25 percent of slot machine revenues. The BIA tries to determine whether the state has guaranteed some form of exclusivity to the tribe or has made other concessions. Get the Story: