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Shiloh Resort & Casino | Sonoma County Casino Remains Blocked in 2026
After receiving federal approval in Jan. 2025 to build the Shiloh Resort & Casino near Santa Rosa, a federal court blocked the project indefinitely in a ruling in Sep. 2025 that stopped the Koi Nation's land-into-trust transfer.
The U.S. Department of Interior had approved the transfer of the casino land into federal trust to make it eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. When tribe-owned land has federal trust status, the tribe can be granted sovereign gaming rights over state and local regulations.
Last September, Judge Rita F. Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California stopped the transfer into trust of the 68-acre casino site owned by the Koi Nation.
Judge Lin ruled that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) had improperly approved the land into trust application. She determined the DOI approval process was flawed and had misapplied the federal law concerning the "restored lands" gaming exception. Her decision sided with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which brought the lawsuit and owns the nearby Graton Resort & Casino Resort in Rohnert Park.
Judge Lin's ruling invalidated the trust status, which has indefinitely blocked the Koi Nation project. The judge also ordered the DOI to reassess the Shiloh Casino case.
Since the ruling, there has been no public information indicating whether the DOI has begun a new review. There have been no updates by the Koi Nation, Graton Rancheria, the U.S. District Court, or the DOI.
The future of the Shiloh Resort & Casino is effectively on-hold until the Department of the Interior (DOI) decides how to proceed. In similar cases, the DOI often takes 12-36 months to restart and complete a new review.
At the end of a new review process, the final DOI decision will likely be challenged again in federal court by either the Koi Nation, if its Shiloh Casino is rejected, or by Graton Rancheria if the Shiloh Casino is approved again. A new lawsuit will add another 1-3 years following the DOI decision. The result of that lawsuit could then add another 1-2 years if either side appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court. After that decision, a tribe could appeal to the Supreme Court which would add another 1-2 years.
IN CONCLUSION, the Koi Nation's casino plan for Sonoma County will remain in legal limbo for the next several years. A realistic expectation for the final casino outcome is 3-7 years away, based on similar tribal gaming cases in the past.1
