Denver ? A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma may reopen its much disputed casino in downtown Kansas City, Kan.

The three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court unlawfully ordered an injunction barring the tribe from having gaming on what’s known as the “Shriner Tract,” a piece of Indian land across the street from City Hall.

The appeals court overruled the injunction in part because there wasn’t proper notice given to the Wyandottes. The panel also said the lower court misread one of its earlier rulings and did not have a legal basis to order the injunction.

The panel also upheld a separate injunction that prevents the Kansas government from enforcing the state’s gaming laws on the Shriner Tract. The court ruled that by applying state laws to the Shriner Tract, the state was intruding on the Wyandotte Tribe’s sovereignty.

The legal disputes started a decade ago when the land was purchased by the federal government to be put into trust for the Wyandotte Tribe, resulting in what the panel referred to as a “random maze” of “lots and lots of lawsuits.”

After unsuccessfully trying to get the casino shut down by the National Indian Gaming Commission, Kansas officials raided the casino in April 2004 for violating state gambling laws, seizing more than $1.25 million in cash and equipment.

In doing so with a search warrant issued by the Kansas state court, the officials bypassed the federal courts, which were the “proper legal channels,” according to the appeals ruling. On Indian land, the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over gambling.

Despite the 10th Circuit’s ruling, the status of the land remains in limbo.

Kansas officials have challenged whether the land was purchased with the correct funds. Although the Secretary of the Interior has ruled the land was properly purchased in trust for the Wyandottes, Kansas officials have challenged the decision. The lawsuit is pending in Kansas district court.