A federal judge has ruled to back an arbitration panel's ruling that the Seneca Nation of Indians was wrong to halt annual casino revenue sharing payments to New York State.

Back in January, a panel voted 2 to 1 that the tribe needed to continue making its annual payments on revenues from casinos in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Salamanca, which it agreed to in a 2002 agreement with the state .

The tribe stopped doing so in 2017, arguing the compact only called for 14 years of payments.

The federal judge Friday said interpreting the compact is not the issue, because the federal court must confirm an arbitration award if it was justly reached, which the court felt it was.

A spokesperson for Governor Andrew Cuomo says, as they've said all along, the Seneca nation needs to fulfill their obligations, make their neighbors and the state whole, and pay what they owe in exchange for their exclusive gaming rights.

That number is estimated to be over $200 million in back payments alone.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the ruling “confirms the consistent, long-standing belief we have held since the Seneca Nation stopped making payments: that the state and the city are owed this money and the Seneca Nation should pay it.”

Buffalo City Council President Darius Pridgen said he is “excited” by the ruling.

“My hope going forward is that we can continue to have a positive working relationship with the Seneca Nation as a stakeholder and important part of our community.”  

In response, Rickey Armstrong Sr., president of the Seneca Nation of Indians, said: 

“The Nation has received the decision issued by the Court earlier today.

Our Compact agreement is clear in what it says and in what it does not say. Despite that lack of ambiguity, a majority of an arbitration panel interpreted that a new, unwritten obligation exists for the Seneca Nation. Today’, the Court has affirmed their interpretation.

We understood the reality that the arbitration and court proceedings may not ultimately uphold the language of the Compact as written. Yet, it is our obligation to defend our agreements, so they are not compromised for the benefit of others.

We will take the time to review today's decision and determine how the Nation will proceed.”