UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT MAVERICK GAMING LLC, No. 23-35136

Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:22-cv- 05325-DGE v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; OPINION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; DEB HAALAND, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Interior; BRYAN NEWLAND, in his official capacity as Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs; JAY INSLEE, in his official capacity as the Governor of Washington; ROBERT FERGUSON, in his official capacity as the Attorney General of Washington; ALICIA LEVY, in her official capacity as Chair of the Washington State Gambling Commission; JULIA PATTERSON, in her official capacity as Vice-Chair of the Washington State Gambling Commission; BUD SIZEMORE, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Washington State Gambling Commission; KRISTINE REEVES, in her official 2 MAVERICK GAMING LLC V. USA

capacity as Commissioner of the Washington State Gambling Commission; SARAH LAWSON, in her official capacity as Commissioner of the Washington State Gambling Commission; STEVE CONWAY, in his official capacity as ex officio member of the Washington State Gambling Commission; JEFF HOLY, in his official capacity as ex officio member of the Washington State Gambling Commission; SHELLEY KLOBA, in her official capacity as ex officio member of the Washington State Gambling Commission; BRANDON VICK, in his official capacity as ex officio member of the Washington State Gambling Commission; TINA GRIFFIN, in her official capacity as Director of the Washington State Gambling Commission,

Defendants-Appellees,

and

SHOALWATER BAY TRIBE,

Intervenor-Defendant- Appellee. MAVERICK GAMING LLC V. USA 3

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington David G. Estudillo, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted March 27, 2024 Seattle, Washington

Filed December 13, 2024

Before: Kim McLane Wardlaw, William A. Fletcher, and Eric D. Miller, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Wardlaw; Concurrence by Judge Miller

SUMMARY *

Indian Regulatory Gaming Act / Fed. R. Civ. P. 19

The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Maverick Gaming LLC’s action—which alleged that the State of Washington’s tribal-state compacts allowing sports betting on tribal land violate the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Tenth Amendment—because the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe is a required party that cannot be joined to the litigation. The panel held that the Tribe is a required party under Fed. R. Civ. P. 19(a) because the Tribe has a legally * This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. 4 MAVERICK GAMING LLC V. USA

protected interest in the lawsuit that may be impaired or impeded in the Tribe’s absence, and rejected Maverick’s argument that the federal government could adequately represent the Tribe’s interests. The panel held that the Tribe cannot feasibly be joined to the litigation where the Tribe enjoys sovereign immunity. Finally, the panel held that the litigation cannot proceed in equity and good conscience without the Tribe, and rejected Maverick’s argument that the litigation should continue in the Tribe’s absence under the public rights exception. Concurring, Judge Miller agreed that Maverick’s action cannot proceed because the Tribe is a required party but sovereign immunity prevents the Tribe from being joined without its consent. He wrote separately to explain that (1) this Court’s precedent on Rule 19 has not adequately considered the distinctive character of