Maverick Gaming of Washington State card room operator has suffered setback in their attempt to dismantle tribal rights exclusive sports gambling monopoly and open up sports gambling market to commercial entities; legal developments represent significant obstacles against this effort.
Maverick Gaming filed legal action last year against both state and federal governments over Washington state’s exclusivity arrangement for sports gambling via tribal nations – but unfortunately for them their ambitions went unfulfilled as Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld lower court’s February 2023 dismissal decision, leaving their ambitions unfulfilled.
Maverick Entertainment Group quickly expanded their operations in Washington after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to overturn federal prohibition of sports gambling by purchasing 19 card rooms during 2019. They had expected legislative support for legalized commercial sports gambling but instead saw only tribal-only legislation pass during 2020 legislative sessions.
Sovereign Rights Issue
Maverick’s challenge focused around allegations that the federal government improperly approved amendments to state compacts for sports betting, in violation of Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and equal protection clause of Fifth Amendment. Maverick asserted that tribes were receiving special treatment under this provision with regard to types of gaming such as sports betting that weren’t permissible among non-tribal gaming establishments within state borders.
Issues surrounding sovereign rights became central when Maverick filed his federal court lawsuit and Shoalwater Bay Tribe intervened to seek its dismissal. Judge David Estudillo issued his ruling favoring tribal gaming compacts; any attempts by Maverick to overturn these compacts was seen by him as an attack against tribal casino gaming operations and therefore unlawful.
Can’t Proceed With or Without Tribe
Maverick contended in its appeal that Shoalwater Bay Tribe had waived their sovereign immunity by intervening in this lawsuit, yet an appellate panel dismissed this argument, noting that limited participation does not equate to relinquishing immunity against litigation in general; they highlighted how important sovereignty and economic interests such as gaming exclusivity play into this dispute.
Appeals court concluded that Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides legal entitlements to tribes through tribal-state gaming compacts – precisely what Maverick had attempted to invalidate through tribal-state gaming compacts. Regardless, Maverick CEO Eric Persson who also serves on Shoalwater Bay Tribal Council expressed his willingness to escalate this dispute all the way up until Supreme Court.
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