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On April 1, 2026, the 4 Wabanaki Nations — the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi’kmaq Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Penobscot Nation — represented by the Native American Rights Fund and co-counsel filed an unopposed movement to intervene in Oxford Casino Hotel, et al. v. Champion within the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. On April 2, the district courtroom granted the Nations’ movement. The Nations’ intervention ensures their voices are represented in a lawsuit difficult Maine’s new web gaming regulation, An Act to Create Economic Opportunity for the Wabanaki Nations Through Internet Gaming, a statute that’s essential to distinctive Tribal financial and sovereign pursuits.
The regulation, enacted earlier this 12 months, establishes a regulatory framework permitting the Wabanaki Nations to hunt licenses to function web gaming in Maine. The statute is designed to assist Tribal self-determination and create financial alternatives that strengthen the Wabanaki governments and their capability to offer for his or her communities. The Nations are the direct beneficiaries of the regulation and have vital sovereign, financial, and constitutional pursuits at stake within the litigation.
The lawsuit, introduced by Oxford Casino Hotel and others, seeks to invalidate the regulation on constitutional grounds. By granting the Wabanaki Nations’ movement to intervene, the courtroom has allowed the Nations to take part as celebration defendants to defend the regulation and shield their distinctive sovereign proper as governments to pursue financial improvement with a view to fund important authorities packages, companies and infrastructure.
Leaders of the Wabanaki Nations emphasised the significance of intervening to safeguard financial sovereignty and shared prosperity throughout Maine:
“Our intervention in Oxford v. Champion is about the future — for our people and for all of rural Maine. This law gives the Penobscot Nation a fair chance to build jobs, fund essential services, and partner across communities to heal long-standing economic disparities, while recognizing our unique politic status as a Tribal Nation. We look forward to the opportunity to defend this law and our right to economic self-determination.”
Chief Francis, Penobscot Nation
“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. It is a result of collaboration between the Wabanaki Nations and state government under our unique jurisdictional relationship to create opportunities that will enable the Nations to share in the economic benefits of gaming.”
Chief Sabattis, Houlton Band of Maliseet
“Rural Maine and our Nations are interconnected. When Tribal economies grow, local businesses, workers, and towns grow too. The Mi’kmaq Nation is proud to stand in court with the other Wabanaki Nations to defend a law that makes that shared prosperity possible.”
Chief McCormack, Mi’kmaq Nation
“The Wabanaki Nations face steeper barriers to prosperity than other Tribes around the country, and we have been historically blocked out of Maine’s casino gaming industry as our peers across Indian country rebuilt their economies and the economies around them using those same economic tools we were deprived of. Defending this law is defending our right to pursue self-determination. We are fighting for a brighter economic future for our future generations.”
Chief Bassett, Passamaquoddy Tribe (Pleasant Point)
“The Passamaquoddy Tribe has been steadfast in its support of economic sovereignty as its number one priority the past two years in the Maine legislature. We are ready to stand in court to defend a law we were proud to fight for over the past years in the state house. Maine’s new internet gaming law is intended to promote a better economic future for Wabanaki communities and for rural Maine. By protecting this law, we protect our future.”
Chief Nicholas, Passamaquoddy Tribe (Indian Township)
Native American Rights Fund Staff Attorney Lenny Powell expressed our dedication to the case, “The Native American Rights Fund is proud to jointly represent the Wabanaki Nations in efforts to defend ‘An Act to Create Economic Opportunity for the Wabanaki Nations Through Internet Gaming.’ This attack represents an unfortunate effort to undermine Tribal-state partnership. It seeks to undermine the legal basis for constructive government-to-government policy collaboration, despite decades of data showing that Tribal and non-Tribal communities alike are stronger when Tribal nations are empowered in their pursuit of self-determination.”
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