Upstate New York Tribal Casino Owner Ordered To Pay State $255 MillionSeneca Nation Has Been Withholding Revenue Sharing Payments To State Since 2017 |
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A tribal nation in upstate New York has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $255 million to the state, according to a report from the New York Post.
The Seneca Nation, the owner of three casinos in Western New York, had been withholding revenue sharing payments from the state government since 2017. The tribe agreed to a compact with the state in 2002 and that agreement laid out how revenue would be divided between itself and the state government.
That agreement expired at the end of 2016 and a new agreement was never negotiated, which led the tribe to stop making payments to the state the following year. The tribe argued that without a new agreement, there was nothing forcing them to hand over the 25 percent share of the slot machine and video lottery revenue that was agreed upon nearly two decades ago.
In exchange for payments, the state government agreed to give the tribe gaming exclusivity over large portions of Western New York. During the two full years of non-payment, 25 percent of that revenue was worth $255 million.
Last April, a three-person arbitration panel said that the tribe should continue paying the state and follow the old compact through 2023. The tribe challenged that decision and brought it to a federal court.
On Friday, a federal judge from the Western District of New York ruled in favor of the state. According to the Buffalo News, the $255 million only accounts for the two years of non-payment. The paper estimates that another $100 million will be owed in 2019.
“The court confirmed what we’ve said all along: the Seneca Nation needs to fulfill their obligations, make their neighbors and the state whole, and pay what they owe in exchange for their exclusive gaming rights,” said Rich Azzopardi, an advisor to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a statement. “It is our hope that they end this charade, stop using the courts to delay, and pay what they owe.”
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