Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch joined by Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Barrett, held that the Restoration Act prohibits on tribal lands only gaming activities that Texas bans outright, rather than incorporating all Texas gaming regulations as federal law. The statutory distinction between prohibition and regulation, its structure, and the context supplied by Cabazon supported that reading. The Court vacated the Fifth Circuit’s judgment and remanded without deciding whether the Tribe’s electronic bingo constituted a regulated or prohibited activity or the extent to which IGRA applied. Chief Justice Roberts dissented, joined by Justices Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh. He argued that the statutory text, the referenced tribal resolution, and the Act’s structure incorporated all Texas substantive gaming restrictions while requiring enforcement in federal court rather than through state regulatory authorities.