LANSING, MI -- U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker on Tuesday ruled in favor of the State of Michigan in its efforts to halt development of an off-reservation tribal casino in downtown Lansing, just blocks from the steps of the state Capitol.

The injunction stops the tribe from applying to have the land taken into trust —

the next necessary step for conducting gaming on the site — until it can be clarified whether a unique provision the Sault tribe claims exempts it from state rules is, indeed, legal.

"We are pleased with this ruling, which will halt efforts to build an illegal Lansing casino,” Joy Yearout, spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette, said in a statement. “Tribes are expected to follow state and federal gaming laws, and that includes abiding by the terms of the compacts they sign. This ruling rejects the Sault Tribe's argument that would have allowed an unchecked expansion of tribal gaming in Michigan."

Generally, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act governs all tribal gaming in the state, but the Sault tribe contends that a unique provision of the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act exempts this proposed casino from the process.

The tribe could dissolve the injunction by submitting to the court, in writing, a revenue sharing agreement reached with the state’s other federally recognized tribes, in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said the ruling was a hurdle he expected, and one his team would overcome en route to making the casino a reality.

“I remain excited about the casino project and its tremendous potential for jobs and economic development for Lansing,” Bernero said in a statement. “I also remain confident in our legal team and that our proposal to build a casino in downtown Lansing will ultimately prevail.”

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Chairman Aaron Payment said the tribe would continue to pursue what he said is the tribe’s legal right to develop a casino in Lansing.

“Today’s ruling is simply the first step in the legal process,” Payment said in a statement. “At the end of the day, we expect to prevail because our 1997 federal Land Claim Settlement Act clearly gives us the right, and because of the substantial economic benefits the project will generate for the people of Greater Lansing and the members of our Sault Tribe.”

James Nye, spokesman for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Greektown Casino and MGM Grand Detroit -- all opposed to the proposed Lansing casino -- said today’s ruling was in line with their arguments.

“Judge Jonker’s order confirms what we have said all along; the tribal-state gaming compacts were intended to stop tribes from reservation shopping for casinos in the homelands of other tribes,” Nye said in a statement.

“This order will also prevent the Sault Tribe from pursuing a casino in Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and any other place it had considered for a casino under its seriously flawed legal theory,” he added. “No one should be surprised that Judge Jonker struck down this preposterous proposal that clearly violates state and federal law.”

E-mail Angela Wittrock: awittroc@mlive.com and follow her on Google+ and Twitter at twitter.com/AngelaWittrock or reach her by phone at 517.219.7073