To: IGA Member Tribes From: Ernest L. Stevens, Jr., Chairman Jason C. Giles, Executive Director Re: DC Circuit Court of Appeals in West Flagler Associates, LTD. v. Haaland , Finding in Favor of the Department of the Interior Date: July 5, 2023 On Friday June 30, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its opinion in West Flagler Associates, LTD v. Haaland , which challenged Secretary Haaland’s approval by inaction of the Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida (“Tribe”). The Court vacated the lower court decision and directed the District Court to enter judgement for the Secretary. Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr. released a statement on the Court’s decision: “We hope this decision will restore the Seminole Tribe’s right to economic development and its sovereign choice to enter into an agreement with the State of Florida. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has been one of the few successful laws passed by Congress that fostered Tribal economic self-sufficiency. With the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision in favor of the Seminole-Florida compact, and the dismissal of the Maverick case in Washington State, Indian gaming remains protected from frivolous lawsuits. It is clear there is much work to be done on the policy side in explaining how IGRA benefits all communities and States. The NCAI-IGA Taskforce will continue to focus on this messaging across all Federal Indian Laws and the Government’s trust responsibility in upholding these laws and Treaties.” Summary of Case In 2021, after the Tribe entered a Compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”) with the State of Florida, Secretary Haaland failed to affirmatively disapprove the Compact within 45 days of receipt. The Plaintiffs, West Flagler Associates, an operator of casinos in Florida, objected to the Secretary’s failure to disapprove the Compact based on the Compact’s online sports betting provisions, which the Plaintiffs claimed violated federal law by authorizing gaming not on Indian lands. The Plaintiffs sued in the District Court, claiming that the Compact violated IGRA, the Wire Act, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”), and the Fifth Amendment, and thus the Secretary was required to disapprove the Compact. On November 22, 2021, the District Court ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs, holding that the Compact “authorizes gaming both on and off Indian lands. The Compact accordingly violates IGRA’s ‘Indian lands’
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