A casino project in California’s central valley is facing some new headwinds following a decision by one of the state’s upper courts. Per a recent article, a long-running fight over a proposed off-reservation casino in the Central Valley reached a decisive point in May after the California Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling that blocks the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians’ project without valid state approval. The decision leaves in place a 2026 ruling by California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal that the project cannot proceed without a valid gubernatorial concurrence. More specifically, the article notes a requirement under federal gaming law for casinos on newly acquired trust land. The ruling leaves the project without a required state approval and prevents it from moving forward under California law.
In this article, SBS will be going over the latest gaming news coming from the Golden State, along with a variety of other notes and information you can only find at SBS.
Per the same report, that concurrence, issued in 2012 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown’s initiative was effectively nullified when California voters rejected Proposition 48. The referendum overturned the Legislature’s ratification of the tribe’s gaming compact and, according to the appellate court, also extinguished the Governor’s concurrence tied to the project. Moreover, the ruling leaves the project without the required state approval and prevents it from moving forward under California law. The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, which operates the nearby Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino, filed the underlying lawsuit in 2016. Additionally, the tribe argued that the statewide vote invalidated the concurrence required under federal law for gaming on newly acquired trust land.
A Madera County Superior Court judge agreed in 2024, granting summary judgment in Picayune’s favor as the Fifth District affirmed that ruling last year. “This outcome reinforces a simple principle: the will of California voters matters,” Deanna Kamalani, chairperson of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, said in a statement provided to Tribal Business News. “This project was rejected at the ballot box, and the courts have now made clear that the outcome cannot be ignored or worked around.”
Noted in the report, the North Fork Rancheria has pursued the Madera casino for more than a decade. The project centers on a 305-acre parcel along Highway 99, roughly 25 miles northwest of Fresno. Federal officials approved the land for gaming in 2012 after issuing a two-part determination under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. That process requires the U.S. Department of the Interior to find that a project is in the tribe’s best interest and not detrimental to the surrounding community, along with concurrence from the governor.
Federal approvals for the trust acquisition and gaming procedures have survived multiple legal challenges. Federal courts upheld the Interior Department’s actions in decisions that are now final. Additionally, the report notes, North Fork has pointed to those rulings in public statements, arguing that federal law ultimately governs its ability to operate a casino on the Madera site. “The North Fork Rancheria’s right to game on its federal trust land near Madera … is governed exclusively by federal,” the tribe said in a statement obtained by a national gaming outlet. “Federal approvals of the North Fork project occurred in 2012 and 2016, and the federal courts have since upheld each approval in final, non-appealable decisions.”
The state appellate court took a different view, focusing on California law rather than federal approvals. Additionally, the panel concluded that the Governor’s concurrence was subject to referendum because it was tied to the compact ratified by the Legislature, the report notes. When voters rejected Proposition 48, the court said, they also nullified the concurrence “from the outset,” leaving the project without a required state approval. The California Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the case means that the interpretation now stands and effectively ends the dispute in state courts.
Per the article, gaming on land acquired after 1988 is generally prohibited unless a tribe meets IGRA’s narrow exceptions, including the two-part determination and gubernatorial concurrence. Without that concurrence, the appellate court said, the North Fork project cannot proceed under state law. The dispute has shaped California’s broader debate over off-reservation gaming, where tribes, developers, and competing operators have challenged new projects that could shift regional gaming. For now, the appellate ruling stands as the final word in California courts, and the Picayune Rancheria says it intends to ensure the state’s requirements are upheld.
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About the Author
Chris Boline is a Reno-based business development professional and freelance sports writer with over a decade of experience covering the NBA G League, Los Angeles Chargers, and national football and basketball. His expertise spans the NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and motorsports, along with topical news, marketing, and promotional content. A proud University of Nevada graduate, Chris earned both his BS in Management & Economics (2015) and MBA (2023). He is active in the Reno community, serving on boards such as the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET, and the College of Business Alumni Association, where he was past president (2022–23). Notable honors include: - Two-time University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year honoree (2017, 2021) - 2021 NCET Professional Services Organization of the Year (with TAC) - 2016–17 Reno Bighorns MVP, awarded by the Sacramento Kings - Nevada Press Association Award for Best Sports Column (2015) - Former Editor-in-Chief of The Nevada Sagebrush Chris blends his passion for sports with a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement.
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