Interior reverses gaming approval for Scotts Valley on line casino

Just days after the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians opened a preview on line casino in Vallejo, Calif., the U.S. Department of the Interior withdrew its earlier gaming willpower for the tribe’s belief land, forcing the short-term facility to shut and sending the broader challenge again into authorized uncertainty.

The reversal, issued Friday, got here one week after Scotts Valley launched a brief Class II facility on the 160‑acre web site. Interior’s resolution concludes that the tribe didn’t meet the “restored lands” exception beneath the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a take a look at that requires tribes to display trendy, historic and temporal ties to newly acquired belief land.

“Upon reconsideration, I conclude that … the Band has not established a significant historical connection to the Parcel,” Assistant Secretary William H. Kirkland III wrote.

Scotts Valley stated it should problem the ruling in federal courtroom. Chairman Shawn Davis stated in a press release offered to Tribal Business News that the executive file “overwhelmingly supports the tribe’s gaming eligibility” and that the tribe will “move quickly” to file go well with.

The tribe additionally confirmed that gaming operations on the preview on line casino are quickly suspended whereas it pursues authorized choices.

The resolution provides one other flip to an extended‑operating effort by Scotts Valley to construct the Vallejo challenge amid robust opposition from surrounding tribes, per prior Tribal Business News reporting. The tribe, headquartered in Lake County, has argued that its historical past of federal recognition and restoration helps gaming eligibility on the Vallejo parcel. Interior initially agreed, issuing a Jan. 10, 2025, resolution that positioned the land into belief for gaming, authorities operations and housing.

That approval cleared the way in which for a bigger Class III challenge that included an eight‑story on line casino, eating places, bars, a ballroom, 24 tribal properties, an administration constructing and a forty five‑acre organic protect. The Trump administration later introduced a overview of the choice in March on the behest of opposing tribes, prompting a number of authorized challenges.

In October, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dominated that Interior had the authority to rethink its resolution however required the company to concern a ultimate resolution by the tip of July.

The reversal can be a big improvement for neighboring gaming tribes that opposed Scotts Valley’s challenge. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, operator of Cache Creek Casino Resort, has argued that the Vallejo web site sits inside Patwin ancestral territory. The Lytton Rancheria, United Auburn Indian Community and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation additionally opposed the challenge.

Scotts Valley broke floor on its administration constructing in September and later introduced plans for the modular preview on line casino. Those operations at the moment are on maintain because the tribe prepares its authorized problem.

About The Author

Staff Writer

Chez Oxendine (Lumbee-Cheraw) is a employees author for Tribal Business News. Based in Oklahoma, he focuses on broadband, Indigenous entrepreneurs, and federal coverage. His journalism has been featured in Native News Online, Fort Gibson Times, Muskogee Phoenix, Baconian Magazine, and Oklahoma Magazine, amongst others.

Other Articles by this writer