A federal appeals court ruled that Alabama can’t close or regulate casinos from the ’ properties.

The three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, on Thursday, upheld a 2014 lower court ruling that Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI), which runs three of the tribe’s casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka, enjoyed sovereign immunity from lawsuits. The judges also rejected a state lawsuit aimed at remove electronic bingo machines from the tribe’s property.

In a 42-page decision, U.S. Circuit Judge Jill Pryor wrote that the law cited by Alabama gives the National Indian Gaming Commission authority to punish tribes engaged in it.

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange last year, charging the tribal casino operations as a public nuisance and that that the machines are not bingo, but slot machines, which under federal Indian gaming regulation framework, are only allowed through a compact with the state officials.