Sponsors (19)
The bill brings two Texas Tribes under IGRA to provide clearer federal oversight and potential economic benefits for the Tribes, while trading off some state regulatory authority and introducing legal, economic, and social risks for tribes and nearby communities.
Members of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama‑Coushatta will be explicitly covered by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), creating a clear federal gaming framework and treating these Tribes the same as other federally recognized Tribes, which reduces regulatory inconsistency and legal uncertainty.
Tribal governments gain access to IGRA-related economic tools (tribal–state compacts, revenue‑sharing frameworks, federal oversight) that can support tribal economic development and greater self‑sufficiency.
Members of the two Tribes may lose prior statutory protections or exceptions due to removal of sections 107 and 207, creating legal uncertainty about tribal rights, obligations, or existing arrangements.
Tribal governments could face new IGRA compliance requirements or revenue‑sharing obligations that reduce net gaming revenues, and federal agencies or the Tribes themselves may incur additional administrative costs to implement the standardized framework.
Texas state authorities and some local residents will have reduced state regulatory control over gaming conducted on these tribal lands, shifting oversight power to the federal level and limiting state enforcement options.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Amends the tribes’ Restoration Act to make IGRA fully applicable to gaming on their lands and removes two Restoration Act sections that created different regulatory language.
Official title: To ensure all federally recognized Tribes that are eligible for gaming in the United States are regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Morgan Luttrell · Last progress June 4, 2025
Makes the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) fully apply to gaming on the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe lands by amending their Restoration Act and removing two existing statutory sections that previously created a different regulatory text. The bill’s change aligns how those two Tribes are regulated with other federally recognized Tribes under IGRA, removing overlapping or different language in the Restoration Act that had allowed a different legal regime for gaming on their lands.