The Southern Ute Indian Tribe (Ute) sued the Colorado governor and the state’s director of gaming enforcement in an effort to obtain a declaration that the Ute’s sportsbook enterprise is lawful; injunctions against the state’s allegedly unlawful actions; and costs, interest, and attorneys’ fees incurred. The Ute first entered into a gaming compact with the … Continue Reading
The regular session of the Alabama Legislature begins on Feb. 6, 2024. Legislators are allotted 30 legislative days during the session, which totals 105 calendar days. Once again it appears that competing legislative proposals relating to gambling will be considered. Legislators have grappled unsuccessfully with the issue since 1999, the year Alabama voters declined to … Continue Reading
Jones Walker LLP is expanding its reach within the gaming industry by reopening its Tallahassee, Florida, office effective immediately. The new office expansion is the direct result of a successful and long-standing strategic alliance with Florida’s Dean Mead law firm. A total of nine attorneys and government relations professionals will join Jones Walker to maximize a larger client delivery … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2023, in a challenge by gaming competitors to the Florida-Seminole gaming compact (the Compact), the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit held that while a gaming compact entered into between a state and a Native American tribe pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) can legally authorize a tribe … Continue Reading
We took a deep dive into Mississippi’s milestones throughout 2022 and have listed those highlights below. Still No Mobile Sports WageringAt least five bills authorizing mobile sports wagering were introduced in the 2022 session of the Mississippi Legislature. However, once again, none made it out of committee due to the inability of gaming interests to … Continue Reading
Alabama In 2020, Governor Kay Ivey appointed a Gaming Task Force to study the feasibility of legalizing gaming in Alabama. Since voters rejected the last attempt in 1999 to amend the Alabama constitutional prohibition on gambling, numerous attempts to pass gaming legislation have failed. But with the proliferation of gaming in surrounding states, bingo casinos … Continue Reading
We took a deeper dive into Mississippi’s milestones throughout 2020 and have listed those highlights below. Mobile Wagering Legislation Has No Legs — Yet Coast Senators Scott Delano and Philip Moran and others introduced bills (SB 2732, SB 2396, and HB 1042) to allow mobile sports betting statewide in an effort to enable Mississippi sports … Continue Reading
On June 10, 2021, the Louisiana Legislature advanced a key piece of sports wagering legislation, Senate Bill 247, to Governor John Bel Edwards. If signed into law, Senate Bill 247 will establish the all-important regulatory framework for the conduct of sports wagering in Louisiana and put certain parishes one step closer to offering sports wagering. … Continue Reading
Senator Del Marsh, who served as president pro tem of the Alabama Senate 2010–2020, introduced on February 9, 2021, SB214, a bill proposing an amendment to the Alabama Constitution (the CA). The CA proposes comprehensive authorization of gaming, including a lottery, five casinos, and sports wagering. It also authorizes and encourages Governor Kay Ivey to … Continue Reading
Alabama In late 2019, the Birmingham Race Course placed 301 historical horse racing machines at its facility. The machines, known as historical pari-mutuel betting, allow users to place wagers on horse races that have already taken place. The machines use historical information from previously run races, allowing bettors to pick the favorites or handicap for … Continue Reading
We took a deeper dive into Mississippi’s milestones throughout 2020 and have listed those highlights below. UMUSIC Broadwater Hotel and Casino Dakia Global U-Ventures and Universal Music Group announced a $1.2 billion resort to be built in Biloxi starting in 2021, with a target opening in 2023. The planned resort would have 1,150 hotel rooms, … Continue Reading
Even though the casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi continue to be closed under orders from the states’ governors and gaming regulators to address the coronavirus pandemic, we can speculate what a reopened gaming industry might look like in the Deep South once those orders are lifted. Prior to entry into a casino, guests may be … Continue Reading
With the introduction and serious consideration of Senate Bill 153 during the 2019 Regular Session, Louisiana is primed to join the growing number of states that have legalized sports wagering in recent years. Senate Bill 153, sponsored by Senator Danny Martiny (R-Metairie), would authorize sports wagering in Louisiana. The bill, if passed, would call for … Continue Reading
As we round the bend into 2019, we pause to reflect on the top Mississippi gaming stories of 2018. Here is our list: Out of the Shadows and Into the Light. On May 14, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Christie vs. NCAA, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the … Continue Reading
Whether it’s members of Congress making highly publicized bets against each other on their hometown teams in the college national championships, March Madness office pools, or the massive amounts wagered on the Super Bowl each year, sports betting is a well-established American pastime. All this, of course, notwithstanding the federal ban on sports betting in … Continue Reading
Casino gaming is, at present, not permitted in the State of Georgia. Indeed, some commentators have gone as far as to categorize Georgia as one of the three least gambling-friendly states in the nation. Yet, others believe that Georgia’s casino-gaming prohibition may soon come to an end. In fact, some legislators and commentators are of … Continue Reading
Gaming partner Tommy Shepherd was published in Law360 for his article, “Top 12 Mississippi Gaming Stories of 2016,” on December 23, 2016. The article is a retrospect on the gaming industry in Mississippi during the past year. Please click here to read the article or below to read the list. … Continue Reading
The 2016 year has been a challenging one for gaming in Texas. Horse-racing, gaming rooms, charity bingo, and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe have all been at the forefront of this year’s challenges. Horse-racing: Texas’s big race parks were ordered to close for a day after a dispute between the Texas Legislature and the … Continue Reading
Two issues of profile now are in the hands of Florida’s highest court which could forever change the landscape of Florida’s gaming industry. The first case involves a small horse track in North Florida, Gretna Racing. This quarter horse track located in Gadsden County, Florida applied for a license to operate slot machines after the … Continue Reading
The Alabama Legislature adjourned sine die on May 4, 2016, without adopting gaming measures which could have shored up its beleaguered budgets. Alabama’s general fund budget, chronically beset by inadequate funding for Medicaid and Corrections, was adopted in this same session over Governor Bentley’s veto even though it left a projected $85 million shortfall in … Continue Reading
While political opposition still sometimes flares up, with some form of legal gaming available in all but two states, there now is little question that gaming is widely accepted in the United States. In 2014, commercial casino gaming revenues were slightly less than $38 billion, and tribal gaming represented an additional $28.5 billion. These are … Continue Reading