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Bonus TL;DR
- A federal judge upheld federal approval for the Coquille Tribe’s Medford casino, rejecting a lawsuit brought by three competing tribes.
- The ruling allows the 2.4-acre project to operate under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act‘s restored lands exception.
A federal judge has upheld federal approval of the Coquille Indian Tribe’s casino project in Medford, Oregon, rejecting a challenge from three tribes that sought to overturn the decision.
The ruling matters because it keeps in place the U.S. Department of the Interior’s January 2025 approval to take the Medford property into trust for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s restored lands exception. It also allows the project to operate while giving the plaintiff tribes a path to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied a summary judgment motion brought by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the Karuk Tribe, and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation. He granted cross-motions from Interior and the Coquille Tribe.
The dispute centered on whether a 2.4-acre site in Medford, about 170 miles from the tribe’s main reservation in Coos Bay, qualified for gaming under IGRA’s restored lands exception. IGRA generally bars gambling on tribal land taken into trust after Oct. 17, 1988, but includes exceptions for tribes that regained federal recognition.
Judge Mehta wrote: “Plaintiffs may disagree, but the court is not empowered to revisit the decision so long as it is ‘reasonable and reasonably explained.’”
Why the Medford site was contested
The Coquille Tribe first applied in 2012 to have the Medford parcel taken into trust for a Class II gaming facility. Interior initially rejected the application in 2020, citing the site’s distance from the reservation and concerns from state and local officials.
Interior later reversed course and approved both the trust acquisition and gaming use in January 2025. The property was transferred into trust the same day, and gaming began the next morning, according to the source report. The facility is currently operating on a limited scale.
The three plaintiff tribes argued the Medford casino would siphon gaming revenue and reduce money available for education, health care, and other tribal services.
What the ruling means next
A key point in the case was the Coquille Restoration Act of 1989, which allows the Interior Secretary to accept land into trust within the tribe’s designated service area. Medford is in Jackson County, which falls within that service area.
Mehta said D.C. Circuit precedent supported Interior’s interpretation and that the court could not substitute its own judgment if the agency’s decision was reasonably explained.
For now, that means the Medford project can continue. Long-term plans call for a 16,000-square-foot gaming floor with 650 Class II machines. Interior estimates the facility could eventually generate $18.5 million in annual revenue.
The ruling is final and appealable, so the next key question is whether the three tribes take the case to the D.C. Circuit.
Source: As reported by casino.org.
