- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Gaming
The Cayuga Nation won a key legal victory July 30 when a federal judge denied the New York State Gaming Commission’s renewed motion to dismiss its lawsuit alleging unlawful Class III gaming on tribal land.
The decision, issued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, confirms the court’s jurisdiction to hear the Nation’s claims under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The court rejected the commission’s arguments that the Nation lacked recourse in federal court and that IGRA’s provisions barred equitable relief, finding that the statute is “judicially administrable” and does not preclude the court’s equitable jurisdiction.
In their 63-page renewed motion to dismiss, the state defendants argued that the court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction and that the Nation’s complaint fails to state a claim. They contended that IGRA provides an exclusive administrative and compact-negotiation scheme, which Congress intended to be the sole remedy for disputes over Class III gaming.
The motion asserted that IGRA does not waive state sovereign immunity for injunctive or declaratory relief, and that tribes lack a private right of action to enjoin state-run lottery operations. The commission also maintained that New York’s lottery vending machines and draw-game terminals are expressly authorized by state law and fall outside IGRA’s definition of “gaming.”
In its complaint, the Nation says the state operates lottery vending machines and “draw game” terminals for Powerall and Mega Millions on its federally recognized, 64,015-acre reservation without the Nation’s consent or a federally approved compact. Under IGRA, those activities qualify as Class III gaming and require both tribal consent and a compact ratified by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“The Cayuga Nation has exercised its sovereign authority to regulate gaming on its Reservation under IGRA. New York State’s operation of Class III gaming on the Nation’s reservation is illegal and needs to be discontinued,” Clint Halftown, the Cayuga Nation's federally recognized representative, said in a statement. “It unfairly competes with the Nation’s casinos and is a clear violation of federal and Nation law. This is about standing up for our rights and protecting the integrity of our laws, our businesses, and our community.”
With the motion to dismiss denied, the Cayuga Nation can now move forward on its claims that New York State must cease Class III gaming on tribal lands or negotiate a valid compact. The Nation said the ruling represents a step toward enforcing IGRA’s requirements and affirming the Nation’s sovereign authority over gaming on its reservation.
