Stillaguamish Gaming Compact Change Takes Effect by Operation of Law

A change to the Stillaguamish Tribe's Class III gaming compact with Washington State took effect on October 14, 2026, not through a signature from the Secretary of the Interior but through the passage of time. A notice published that day in the Federal Register, Document No. 2026-20896 at 91 FR 65252, states that the Secretary took no action within the 45-day review period, and that the Stillaguamish gaming compact change is therefore considered approved to the extent it is consistent with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

The notice, issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and signed by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development Kennis M. Bellmard under delegated authority, is brief. But it is a useful window into how routine compact maintenance works in Washington, and into how the federal approval clock operates when the Department chooses neither to approve nor to disapprove.

What the Federal Register notice says

The parties are identified as the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians and the Washington State Gambling Commission. The instrument itself is described in the body of the notice as a "Memorandum of Incorporation" concerning a "Tribal Lottery System Purchase Price Increase." According to the notice's summary, the document revises Appendix E of the compact to increase the purchase price of a single scratch ticket and to set online wager limits at $50. The notice does not state an amendment number, and it does not reproduce the full text of the revised appendix, so readers who need the operative language should consult the compact documents published by the parties.

The legal basis cited is IGRA, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., and specifically 25 U.S.C. 2710. The notice recites the familiar rule that the Secretary has 45 days to approve or disapprove a tribal-state compact; if the Secretary does nothing, the compact is considered approved, but only to the extent it is consistent with IGRA. It also notes that IGRA requires approved compacts to be published in the Federal Register, and that under 25 CFR 293.4 compacts and amendments are subject to the Secretary's review. One small drafting quirk is worth noting: the notice cites 25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(8)(D) for the deemed-approval rule in one place and 2710(d)(8)(C) in another, a reminder that these notices are formulaic documents and that the statute itself, not the notice, controls.

How approval by operation of law works

Under IGRA, a Class III compact or amendment takes effect only when the Secretary approves it and notice is published. The statute gives the Secretary a 45-day window. If the window closes without action, the compact is deemed approved by operation of law, and the Department then publishes a notice saying so. Our explainer on the 45-day default path walks through the mechanics, and the analysis of the default path in 2026 looks at why the Department has relied on it for so many filings.

Deemed approval is not the same as an affirmative finding that every term is lawful. The qualifier in the statute, "only to the extent [the compact] is consistent with" IGRA, preserves the Department's and the courts' ability to treat an inconsistent provision as ineffective. For a narrow appendix change such as a price or wager-limit adjustment, the practical risk is low. For provisions that touch the scope of Class III gaming, revenue payments to a state, or jurisdiction, the distinction matters more, and those issues have been litigated in other contexts.

Why small appendix changes matter in Washington

Washington's compacts are organized as a main agreement with appendices that set operating detail. That structure lets the state and a tribe adjust technical or commercial parameters without renegotiating the whole compact. The Stillaguamish change is a good example: rather than reopening the agreement, the parties adjusted a single appendix and incorporated the change by memorandum. The same approach has been used elsewhere in the state; our coverage of the Swinomish ninth compact amendment and the broader 2026 wave of Washington amendments shows how frequently the format is used.

For the Stillaguamish Tribe, which operates Angel of the Winds Casino Resort in Arlington, the change arrives as the enterprise continues to develop its property; readers following the tribe's broader operating strategy can see our report on its unified resort platform. Wager limits and ticket pricing are among the parameters that shape what a tribe can offer players, particularly in online or app-based channels where limits are set in the compact rather than by market convention.

What to watch next

Three points are worth monitoring. First, whether the Department continues to let narrow appendix changes become effective by default rather than through affirmative approval letters, which affects how quickly tribes can implement operational changes. Second, whether additional Washington tribes file comparable memoranda, since the state's compacts contain similar appendices and many tribes share the same commercial incentives. Third, whether the published compact documents clarify the notice's summary language, including how the "scratch ticket" and "online wager" references relate to one another.

Readers who want to understand how to read these notices on their own should consult our guide to reading a Federal Register compact notice, and the state hub for Washington tribal casinos lists the operators subject to the state's compact framework. For the statutory background, see the Legal Guide to IGRA and Class III gaming.

The notice itself offers no commentary, and neither the Department nor the parties have, in the notice, described the commercial effect of the change. What the filing confirms is narrower and still meaningful: the compact change is in force as of October 14, 2026, the review clock ran without Interior action, and the Stillaguamish Tribe and the Washington State Gambling Commission can operate under the revised Appendix E.