Wabanaki Tribes Enter Lawsuit In Defending Their Right To Operate Online Casinos In Maine
Four tribes that make up the Wabanaki aim to keep their monopoly on the coming iCasino launch
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The four Wabanaki tribes granted exclusive rights to operate online casinos in Maine have entered the federal lawsuit that Oxford Casino Hotel filed seeking to block the law, according to an article in the Portland Press Herald.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi’kmaq Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation filed a joint motion to intervene last Wednesday evening, and a judge granted the request Thursday, the Press Herald reported. Oxford Casino, owned by Churchill Downs Inc., filed the suit against the state early this year.
In stepping into the case, the tribes are arguing that Oxford Casino’s challenge reaches beyond online gambling. Their attorneys contend the casino’s equal protection argument could undercut the legal framework that treats federally recognized tribes as sovereign political entities.
“Adopting Plaintiffs’ equal protection theories could threaten the validity of countless laws that classify based on the unique sovereign status of federally recognized tribes,” the tribes’ attorneys said in their filing.
Lenny Powell, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund representing the Wabanaki Nations, was even more direct in his assessment.
“This attack represents an unfortunate effort to undermine Tribal-state partnership,” he said in the published report. “It seeks to undermine the legal basis for constructive government-to-government policy collaboration, despite decades of data showing that tribal and nontribal communities alike are stronger when Tribal nations are empowered in their pursuit of self-determination.”
Battle lines
The newspaper also reported that tribal leaders used their court filings to describe the governmental services their nations provide to both tribal and nontribal residents, including health care, food assistance, jobs programs, domestic violence and sexual assault services, and infrastructure work.
“This law is crucial to advancing the Houlton Band’s efforts to develop independent, long-term revenue sources that are not dependent on federal funding and will enable us to support and expand governmental services for Maliseet families and other community members,” Houlton Band Chief Clarissa Sabattis said in her declaration, according to the Press Herald.
Oxford Casino Hotel, one of Maine’s two brick-and-mortar casinos, filed the federal lawsuit in January challenging LD 1164, the law that gives the Wabanaki Nations exclusive rights to operate online casino games. The casino argues the law created an illegal “race-based monopoly” in violation of the Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. and Maine constitutions.
Oxford has long opposed expanding Maine’s gambling market to online casino. Its position now is that if the state is going to legalize iGaming, existing commercial casinos should be allowed to participate.
Gov. Janet Mills announced on Jan. 8 that she would allow LD 1164 to become law without her signature. Under the law, each of the four tribes may partner with a single licensed platform provider, with licenses costing $50,000 annually. The law takes effect 90 days after the current legislative session adjourns.
