IGRA’s “Newly Acquired Lands” Exceptions

Thread: Off-Reservation Gaming

So, back to the off-reservation gaming thread. The general rule is that a tribe CANNOT open a casino on lands it has just recently bought or acquired, even if the lands qualify as “Indian lands.”

The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) generally prohibits both Class II (bingo, etc.) and Class III (casino games) gaming on Indian lands that are placed into trust by the federal government after Oct. 17, 1988 (the date IGRA was passed by Congress).

There are, though, a handful of exceptions to that general rule.

1. The land is located within or adjacent to the tribe’s existing reservation.
2. For a tribe that didn’t have a reservation in 1988, the land is within the tribe’s last recognized reservation and within the state in which the tribe currently resides.
3. The land is placed in trust as the result of the settlement of a land claim by the tribe.
4. For a newly recognized tribe, the land is within the tribe’s newly created reservation.
5. For a restored tribe (this refers to the federal government’s discredited practice of “terminating” tribes), the land is part of a restored reservation.

All of these exceptions, then, have to do with a tribe’s reservation (even #3, as a tribe’s viable land claim often will be based on the illegal taking of reservation lands).

For anyone who’s interested, such as tribal or gaming attorneys or other practitioners, we provide detailed explanations of these exceptions in our second book, Indian Gaming Law and Policy.

So where does off-reservation gaming come in?

Through the “best interests” exception, which we’ll explain in detail next time in this thread.