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NIGC appeals court decision

WASHIINGTON, DC – (PRESS RELEASE) — Today the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) filed a petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking for panel reconsideration of portions of the opinion in their October 20, 2006 Colorado River Indian Tribe (CRIT) v. National Indian Gaming Commission decision. The NIGC is seeking rehearing only to correct three instances of overbroad language in the opinion that could be misinterpreted in futures cases.

The NIGC filed this petition in order to ask the Court to remove potential confusion in the Indian gaming industry as to the scope of the NIGC's authority relating to Class III gaming. The CRIT decision found that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) does not provide a statutory basis for the National Indian Gaming Commission to promulgate minimum internal control standards governing Class III gaming, thereby affirming the summary judgment granted to the Colorado River Indian Tribes by the district court last fall.

NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen stated that, "The NIGC believes that the continued growth and prosperity of the Indian gaming industry is dependent upon the original balance found in IGRA. That balance includes the tribes, the states and the federal government working together. Unless the potentially confusing language in the opinion is corrected, this balance is threatened, because it could be misread to state that the NIGC is without Class III authority."

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