25 CFR 291.3: When may an Indian tribe ask the Secretary to issue Class III gaming procedures?

An Indian tribe may ask the Secretary to issue Class III gaming procedures when the following steps have taken place:

(a) The Indian tribe submitted a written request to the State to enter into negotiations to establish a Tribal-State compact governing the conduct of Class III gaming activities;

(b) The State and the Indian tribe failed to negotiate a compact 180 days after the State received the Indian tribe's request;

(c) The Indian tribe initiated a cause of action in Federal district court against the State alleging that the State did not respond, or did not respond in good faith, to the request of the Indian tribe to negotiate such a compact;

(d) The State raised an Eleventh Amendment defense to the tribal action; and

(e) The Federal district court dismissed the action due to the State's sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment.