Opinion No. (2006)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General SUSAN DUNCAN LEE Deputy Attorney General. THE HONORABLE SAM AANESTAD, MEMBER OF THE STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: May Class III gaming be conducted on individual "allotment land" or "trust land" held in the name of individual Indians outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation or on land upon which a tribal government did not exercise governmental power until after 1988? CONCLUSION Class III gaming may be conducted on "allotment land" or "trust land" held in the name of individual Indians outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation or on land upon which a tribal government did not exercise governmental power until after 1988 under limited circumstances. ANALYSIS On October 17, 1988, Congress enacted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ( 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701 - 2721 ; "IGRA") 1 to provide a " `comprehensive regulatory framework for gaming activities on Indian lands' which `seeks to balance the interests of tribal governments, the states, and the federal government.' [Citation.]" ( Pueblo of Santa Ana v. Kelly (10th Cir. 1997) 104 F.3d 1546 , 1548 .) Broadly speaking, Congress divided gaming activities into…