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Opinion
Opinion: Obama opens the door to off-reservation gaming bids


"On June 14, the Department of the Interior publicly announced a new policy governing the Department's acceptance of off-reservation land into trust for gaming pursuant to Section 20(b)(1)A) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 ("IGRA"), 25 U.S.C. § 2719(b)(1)(A). The announcement has been widely declared as a dramatic loosening of the standards to be considered in trust applications on gaming on newly acquired land.

The significance of the policy change may be less than has been reported, which is that it opens the door to an avalanche of off-reservation applications from tribes across the country.

This new policy is established through a Guidance Memorandum promulgated by Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk on June 13 and announced the following day. With it, Echo Hawk reversed a three-year-old Bush Administration Guidance Memorandum imposing restrictions on trust acceptance of off-reservation land acquisition for gaming that exceeded the provisions of both IGRA and the federal regulations then in effect.

The 2008 Guidance Memorandum was promulgated by former Assistant Secretary Carl Artman without consulting with any tribes. Rather, Artman unilaterally created a requirement that any off-reservation gaming sites be within a "commutable distance" from the applicant tribe's existing reservation; significantly, that term is neither found in the law or regulations nor defined in the Policy Guidance. The essence of the 2008 policy was to preclude the development of any tribal casino at any site more than a few hours driving time from an existing reservation. There was no exception for historic connection to land beyond Artman's view of a tribe's "real world" – either through occupancy or cultural ties."

Get the Story:
Dennis J. Whittlesey: Off-Reservation Gaming – What Does The New Policy Mean? (Mondaq.com 7/25)
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