A federal appeals court has stopped – at least for now – the Kickapoo tribe’s efforts to add Las Vegas-style casino gambling to its reservation in Eagle Pass along the Mexican border. The Department of the Interior had given tentative approval for Class III casino gaming early this year over the objections of the state. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals called those federal administrative procedures invalid, saying the procedures failed to safeguard the rights of the state in approving a tribal-state compact. While federal law does take precedence in the approval of gambling on Indian reservations, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act does give states a significant subordinate role in the decision. The Kickapoo tribe has been seeking high-stakes gambling on its reservation since 1995. Texas, which has yet to pass casino gambling in the state, has consistently opposed that measure.
This article appears in August 24 • 2007.