Seneca Nation Argues 25 Percent Slot Machine Revenue Share Too High

The Seneca Carry Nation of Indians says sharing 25 percent of its slot simple machine revenue with New House of York no thirster allows its tierce casinos resorts the same economic benefits that the gaming facilities erst did.

Seneca President Saint Matthew Pagels opined this hebdomad that the ongoing expanding upon of casino gambling inwards New House of York and the northeastern United States has resulted inwards a saturated market. As a mathematical product of that, the Seneca casinos are pulling inwards less money, and claim continuing to percentage 25 percent of the expansion slot 144 gaming revenue (GGR) is now unrealistic.

The gaming landscape painting has changed drastically here in Western New York,” Pagels stated. “I trust the Lucius Annaeus Seneca Carry Nation view is that 25 percent isn’t a reasonable assessment anymore, and that’s why we’re asking the res publica to accede to the Department of Interior.”

The latter component of Pagels’ point out relates to the Lucius Annaeus Seneca Carry Nation contesting a February federal appeals court of law ruling that concluded the federation of tribes owes New York $435 million.

Tribe Seeks New Terms

The Seneca Nation and New York inward 2002 reached a 14-year Class III gaming compact that required the folk to deal 25 percent of its expansion slot GGR with the state. The effectual binding pact included a seven-year renewal clause, which was initiated to stretch until 2023.

The tribe contested that the filename extension did non set that the 25 percent GGR part authorisation was required. The Native American radical stopped-up(a) sending slot money to the province inwards Mar of 2017.

Since then, the heavyset has been held upwardly inward effectual courts, and the tribe has been putting the GGR into an escrow account. An arbitrement venire concluded that it was “unreasonable” and “against usual sense” for the Senecas to take that the telephone extension was loose of the revenue sharing component.

A federal appeals court of law upheld the determination inward February. But the tribe’s sound fighting didn’t remnant there.

Late utmost month, the Lucius Annaeus Seneca Nation filed a move inward New York’s Western District federal tribunal inward Buffalo seeking “relief” from the ruling. The Lucius Annaeus Seneca motion conceded that it is on the snitch for $435 million, but believes a recent letter of the alphabet from the US Department of the Interior (DOI) to the federation of tribes shows why relievo is perhaps warranted.

“We hold serious concerns most the extension phone of revenue share-out during years 15-21, because we did non direct an analytic thinking of the extension,” explained Paula Hart, managing director of the Office of Amerind Gaming at the DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Senecas Ask DOI for Help

Pagels told reporters that he hopes the DOI will interpose to determine a more favorable GGR percentage range for the tribe, and come down the $435 jillion judgement.

In March, former Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico) was sworn inwards as the DOI secretary. group A fellow member of the Laguna Pueblo, a federally recognised tribe inwards New Mexico, she is the for the first time Native American to suit a fellow member of a presidential cabinet.

Pagels said Haaland and the DOI could “help us inwards negotiations for a new compact.”