AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Maine’s top court could weigh in on whether a tribe could run a casino on tribal land without state permission.
The House last month approved Rep. Henry Bear’s order asking the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to consider whether a U.S. Supreme Court decision would allow the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to conduct gambling on tribal trust land.
Bear says a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision lifted restrictions on tribal casinos. A 1988 federal law allows states to set rules for gambling.
Efforts to allow tribal casinos in Maine have long failed. A bill to allow Maine’s gambling board to issue licenses to federally recognized tribes died this spring.
Spokespeople for Maine’s top court didn’t respond to a request for comment.
