Is Del Lago Casino Indian Owned?

In March of 2017, the Del Lago Resort & Casino opened in the town of Tyre, New York. The $440 million dollar casino is owned by Wilmorite Inc.

, a Rochester-based real estate and mall development company, and its partners. But some community members say the casino should be considered Indian-owned because of its location on the former Seneca Nation reservation.

The Del Lago casino is located on what was once the Seneca Nation’s Central New York Reservation. The reservation was created in 1848, when the nation agreed to sell 3.5 million acres of land to the state of New York.

In exchange, the state guaranteed the Senecas the right to hunt and fish on the land, as well as a yearly payment of $500,000 in tobacco settlement money. But in 2002, the state stopped making payments, claiming that the Senecas had not fulfilled their end of the bargain by not allowing enough state oversight of their tobacco businesses.

The Senecas then sued the state, and in 2016, a federal judge ruled in their favor, ordering the state to pay $255 million in back payments. The ruling also said that because the state had breached its contract with the Senecas, it could not collect taxes on cigarette sales on the reservation.

This ruling opened up the possibility that other businesses on former Seneca Nation land – like the Del Lago casino – could also be exempt from paying taxes.

The Del Lago casino has already applied for and been granted a tax exemption from the state for its slot machines. But community members who want the casino to be considered Indian-owned say that it should also be exempt from paying property taxes to local governments.

They argue that if the state cannot collect taxes from businesses on former Seneca Nation land, then neither should local governments.

The debate over whether or not businesses like the Del Lago casino should be considered Indian-owned is likely to continue as more casinos are built on former Native American reservations. For now, though, it seems clear that at least some members of the community believe that Indian ownership would exempt businesses like Del Lago from paying taxes – something that could benefit both the casino and its customers.