Opponents head to court after Coquille Tribe’s Oregon casino wins federal approval

Monday, January 13, 2025 7:45 PM
Photo:  Coquille Indian Tribe (courtesy)
  • Jonathan Bach, The Oregonian

The Biden administration, in its waning days, approved a new southern Oregon casino, the second to be operated by the Coquille Indian Tribe.

The final sign-off by the U.S. Department of the Interior lets the Coquille Indian Tribe transfer 2.4 acres it owns in Medford into trust with the feds, allowing the tribe to govern the property.

The decision stands to upturn a statewide arrangement, put into effect by recent Oregon governors, by which tribes only operate one casino on their established lands.

The Coquille tribe runs The Mill Casino in North Bend, and it has long sought to renovate a building in Medford into a roughly 30,000-square-foot casino with 650 gaming machines and nearby parking.