Cayuga Nation sues Caesars Sportsbook over mobile sports wagers on tribal lands
The Cayuga Nation is reportedly filing the first lawsuit of its kind against a state-licensed sportsbook, seeking damages and a complete accounting of every bet placed on its New York reservation.
US.- The Cayuga Nation has filed a federal lawsuit against American Wagering, Inc., the operator of Caesars Sportsbook, alleging the company accepted mobile sports bets inside the Nation’s New York reservation without the tribe’s authorisation.
The complaint alleges that between January 2022 and July 2025, Caesars took bets from within the 64,000-acre reservation despite the absence of a tribal-state gaming compact between the Nation and New York. The suit claims this violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The filing reads: “Despite clear statutory mandates, Defendant conducted gaming within the Reservation without the Nation’s authorization, approval of a Tribal-State compact, or oversight by the National Indian Gaming Commission (“NIGC”) or the Secretary of the Interior, as required by IGRA.
“By unlawfully operating within the Nation’s territorial boundaries under color of state law, Defendant ignored the basic tenets of federal preemption, usurped the Nation’s exclusive jurisdiction to regulate gaming on its lands, and deprived the Nation of the governmental and economic benefits Congress intended IGRA to secure.”
The complaint also raises a federal Lanham Act claim, alleging that Caesars advertised its mobile sportsbook as available across New York without disclosing that its operations may be restricted on tribal lands.
According to the filing, on June 20, 2025, the Nation sent a cease-and-desist letter to Caesars directing it to immediately discontinue all gaming activity being conducted on the Nation’s Reservation. A month later, the company agreed to use geofencing to prevent wagers from being placed on reservation territory.
Then, on September 2, 2025, the Nation requested Caesars to provide a full accounting of all gaming activity conducted within the Reservation, including all wagers accepted and revenues derived therefrom, and requested the operator to respond by September 19, 2025. Caesars confirmed that it had agreed to geofence its operations out of the Reservation but refused to provide an accounting of the proceeds it generated from operating on the Reservation.
The filing reads: “The Nation has suffered monetary damages as a result of Defendant’s unauthorized gaming activity during the period of operation. Such damages include, but are not limited to, the loss of gaming revenue, interference with the Nation’s exclusive right to regulate and benefit from gaming on its Reservation, and resulting harm to governmental programs and services funded by that revenue.”
The Nation is seeking a declaratory judgment confirming that Caesars’ mobile betting operations on tribal lands were illegal and unauthorised, along with damages and an accounting of all revenue from wagers placed within the reservation.
