Gaming and Native American Law
As one of top eight law firms ranked nationally by Legal 500 for Native American Law, we handle all legal and governing issues for tribes to ensure they thrive and succeed. We have been special counsel to five state governors on tribal-state compacting negotiations. With attorneys who have led state relations with tribes, who have been tribal in-house counsel, and who have worked at the National Indian Gaming Commission, we help our clients understand the perspectives of those across the negotiating table.
Noted for “Longevity in the field, willing to consider both sides of the issue and render a fair opinion on anticipated outcomes.”
With lawyers ranked in Chambers USA and Best Lawyers, we were selected by The Legal 500 as one of the top nine law firms in the United States for our work in the Native American Law category.
“A strong, developed team, that is exceptional from briefing all the way to the courtroom. Dykema has expert understanding of the legal issues informed by great practical experience” -Client Feedback, Chambers USA 2023
Our gaming and Native American law work began in Michigan, and we lead the charge on legal work in these areas in the state. But our work is not isolated to just Michigan—we have represented clients in California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin. We have also handled matters for clients on commercial gaming issues in Canada and the Caribbean.
Although tribal gaming is now a mature industry, opportunities for tribes and non-native partners remain. Drawing upon deep and varied experience in tribal gaming and related finance matters, we have represented:
- Tribal governments
- Gaming development and management companies
- Governors, states, and local governments
- Financial institutions
Pre-Development
We have experience in all pre-development aspects of developing tribal gaming enterprises including, assisting tribes and their partners in satisfying the prerequisites for a tribe to engage in Class II and Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). In doing so, we have led due diligence and been involved with feasibility studies for dozens of proposed gaming projects, and succeeded in multiple jurisdictions.
Our pre-development work extends to assisting tribes in obtaining land in trust and, in the case of newly acquired lands, meeting IGRA’s exceptions allowing for gaming on land taken into trust after 1988.
When third parties are involved in tribal casino development, Dykema has negotiated development, consulting and management agreements, obtaining declination letters, and approvals of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) where required.
Compacting and Government Negotiations
Our compacting and governmental negotiations experience includes:
- Negotiating compacts
- Managing approval through state legislative processes
- Advocating for approval by the U.S. Department of Interior
- Litigating challenges brought by opponents
Beyond initial compacts, our experience encompasses evaluating the interplay between existing compacts and new proposals, and navigating disputes that arise under compacts. In addition to work directly for tribes and their partners, Dykema has also advised local governments in implementing local revenue sharing and mitigation agreements, and state governments with regard to the impact of exclusivity clauses, and permissible arrangements for structuring tribal revenue sharing.
Financing
When it comes to funding tribal casino pre-development costs, construction, expansions, and renovations, our team has played critical roles in deals totaling more than $1 billion. In doing so, we have represented tribes, banks, and investors in negotiating deal terms, concluding transactional documents, providing opinion letters, and obtaining the NIGC’s de facto approval.
Among our accomplishments was serving as counsel for bondholders who were party to a precedent-setting first financial restructuring of a troubled tribal gaming facility.
Our commercial gaming experience spans multiple domestic and foreign jurisdictions, and ranges from authorization, to licensure and regulatory matters, to mergers and acquisitions, to finance, and to litigation.
As counsel to the ballot committee that passed gaming legalization in Michigan in 1996, we were on the ground floor in this state. In addition, we have also represented the owners of casinos in Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, and we have worked on commercial gaming matters in Canada and Caribbean nations.
Over the last 15 years, our transaction work in the gaming field totals more than $3.3 billion in successful acquisitions and financings. We have represented suppliers and vendors, and served as expert witness in gaming regulatory litigation in Nevada.
In addition, we regularly advise clients with regard to sweepstakes and promotions, charitable gaming, and some state lottery matters.
Our team advises tribes on unique and sophisticated governmental matters and has been involved in ordinance drafting and constitution analysis for a number of tribes.
We have formed tribal non-gaming development enterprises and guided them through acquisitions. In addition, we have advised state officials in modernizing states’ relationships with tribes to better extend to tribal governments the respect that they deserve.
In our representation of tribal clients, we have negotiated the first State-Tribal Accord in Michigan, inaugurated and institutionalized what are now annual state-tribal summits, led amendments to the State’s Urban Cooperation Act to clearly authorize agreements for the joint exercise of tribal and state governmental powers, and concluded cross-deputization agreements.
Our team has also played lead roles in important settlements of treaty rights and gaming cases.
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