On Tuesday, a federal judge in the state of Michigan issued an injunction against the Bay Mills Indian Community, ordering them to shut down their casino in Vanderbilt until further notice. The tribe had until noon that day to cease all gambling operations at the casino, and reports indicate that they have complied with the order.

The casino in Vanderbilt, Michigan is located south of the Bay Mills reservation. For that reason, the Little Traverse Band of Odawa Indians filed a lawsuit claiming that the casino is illegal because it is not on tribal land. That tribe has a stake in the deal, because they operate a competing casino elsewhere in the state.

The Bay Mills Community disagrees, saying that the Vanderbilt casino is perfectly legal. The land was purchased as part of a land-claim settlement with the state of Michigan. According to the Bay Mills Community, that makes the land tribal land, which gives them the right to operate a casino on it.

It will probably take some time for this issue to be sorted out in the courts. In the meantime, the temporary injunction bars the tribe from operating the casino until the case is resolved. Jeffrey Parker, Executive Council President for the Bay Mills Community, said that they will continue to fight for the right to operate the Vanderbilt casino.

“We’re preparing to fight this to the bitter end,” he said to television station WEYI. He added that “we believe we are still in the right; we believe that the judge may have made some assumptions that are not correct.” Throughout the court case, he will attempt to disprove those assumptions and make clear the community’s right to hold the casino in Valderbilt.

Tags: Michigan gambling, tribal casinos