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N.Y. Court Hears Casino Law Challenge

ALBANY, New York – As reported by the Democrat & Chronicle: "The legality of New York's massive gambling expansion came under fire Monday at the state's top court as lawyers and judges went round and round over whether states have any power to trump federal laws on Indian gambling.

"And a judge who has lately been a swing vote on crucial issues before the court indicated the state might have a hard time putting restrictions on casinos run by Native Americans.

"At issue is a 2001 law that approved three Indian-run casinos in western New York, three more in the Catskills, video lottery machines at horseracing tracks and participation in a multi-state lottery. The law was passed in October 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks sent New York's economy reeling.

"…Gambling opponents contend that the law is unconstitutional — that the only forms of gambling allowed by the state constitution are lotteries, horse racing and games such as bingo operated by nonprofit or religious organizations. Casinos could exist only if New York voters altered the constitution to allow them, anti-gambling lawyers told the Court of Appeals.

"But that might not convince some of the seven judges on the panel. They indicated that federal laws on Indian gambling hold that a state that allows any form of gambling — including lotteries and bingo — has ceded the power to ban gambling, regardless of what the state's constitution may say…"

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