Alaska Casino Wins Federal Court Decision, State Lawsuit Lingers
Posted on: July 4, 2025, 08:21h.
Last updated on: July 3, 2025, 02:38h.
- The Chin’an Gaming Hall has secured a federal court victory
- The tribal casino is owned and operated by the Native Village of Eklutna
- Alaska is home to 228 federally recognized tribes, but there are only three tribal casinos
No state is home to more federally recognized tribes than Alaska. The Last Frontier is home to 229 sovereign nations, which account for almost half of the country’s 574 federally approved tribes.
This week, Judge James Robart, a senior United States District Court judge in Washington’s Western District, who is a designated judge that assists Alaska’s District Court in certain matters, sided with the Native Village of Eklutna in its defense of its Chin’an Gaming Hall in Chugiak. The temporary facility offers 135 slot-like electronic bingo machines. It opened on Feb. 3, 2025, roughly 20 miles northeast of downtown Anchorage.
Area residents had filed a lawsuit contesting that the casino would hurt the quality of life in the region with increased traffic and noise. Robart said those claims might be true, but have no legal weight in preventing its operation.
The tribe is federally recognized, meaning it is entitled to tribal sovereign immunity,” Robart wrote.
The Chin’an Gaming Hall is a provisional gaming space that will be replaced with a permanent casino next year. The permanent property will house 700 gaming machines and two restaurants.
Alaska Casino Gaming
The Alaska state government has refused to enter into Class III gaming compacts with any tribe, which is needed for tribal casinos to conduct Las Vegas-like slot machines and live dealer table games. As a result, the federally recognized tribes can only offer Class I and II gaming as defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
Robart’s decision, which falls in line with the federal government taking the Native Village of Eklutna’s lands into the federal trust and designating its acres sovereign, secures the tribe’s ability to operate tribal casino gaming.
“Great news and a big win,” the Chin’an Gaming Hall Facebook page posted. “We’re excited to share that the U.S. District Court has ruled in favor of the Native Village of Eklutna. We’re thankful for the support and proud to keep bringing fun, games, and wins to our community!”
The Chin’an Gaming Hall post included a picture of a gambler named Marie with $3,650 in cash after she hit a jackpot playing Everlasting Fortunes this week.
The Chin’an Gaming Hall is built along Birchwood Spur Road on eight acres of Eklutna land known as its Ondola Allotment. The Chin’an Gaming Hall is only the third tribal casino to open in Alaska and the first in Southcentral Alaska.
Federal Approvals
In July 2024, the National Indian Gaming Commission signed off on the Native Village of Eklutna’s Gaming Ordinance.
I have determined that the Gaming Ordinance complies with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the NIGC regulations and I hereby approve the Gaming Ordinance,” wrote Sharon Avery, the NIGC’s acting chair.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) continues to seek to restrict tribal gaming through the federal court system. In April, the governor’s administration filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the three tribal casinos.
Dunleavy and Attorney General Treg Taylor allege that the state has primary jurisdiction over Alaska Native allotments and therefore can dictate what can and cannot operate on the lands. The case is ongoing in the federal district court in Washington, D.C.
No comments yet