A brief letter from a significant player in the world of legal gambling has changed the politics around the problem of sports gambling in Minnesota. At least for today.
Last week, Charles Vig, the chair of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, composed Gov. Tim Walz and the four legislative leaders to say the state’s gambling tribes weren’t interested in adding sports gambling to their offerings.
But he didn’t stop there. From the letter, Vig said the tribes will probably oppose passage of legislation to include Minnesota to the growing list of countries with legalized sports betting. “The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association continues to oppose the growth of off-reservation gambling, including the legalization of sports gambling,” he wrote.
The seven casino-owning tribes at Minnesota combine a group of allies in sports gambling betting bills this season, including groups like Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, which concerns about the ill effects of gaming, including dependency.
The tribes don’t have a veto over non-tribal gambling, but their voices are powerful, especially among DFLers such as Gov. Tim Walz and the new House majority. Under federal law, states must deal in good faith to permit tribes to offer the same types of gambling that’s legal off-reservation.
Until a U.S. Supreme Court decision last spring cleared the way for states to provide sports gambling like what is lawful in Nevada casino sports books, that legislation was not a problem in Minnesota. It is. By a 6-3 majority, the court ruled in Murphy v. NCAA that Congress exceeded its power by preventing states from legalizing and regulating sports betting. The case had been brought by New Jersey, which wanted to provide a boost to its fighting Atlantic City casinos, and had attempted a set of legal moves to end the federal ban against sports betting in all states except Nevada.
From the vast majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. wrote that Congress has the ability to pass laws to govern sports betting itself. However, if it decides not to, every nation is free to do so, and several have done just that.
A draft bill circulated in the Minnesota capitol in the conclusion of the 2018 session but no formal invoice was filed and no hearings were held. Supporters of the law, led by Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, have been preparing a bill for this particular session,.
Chamberlain, who’s chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, was surprised and a little disappointed in the tribes’ position, which he discovered about via Twitter. “We met together and while they are not always in alignment they’re obviously concerned about losing their economic base, the economic engine,” Chamberlain said. “We know that. We’ve reassured them that we’re not interested in harming that fascination or jeopardizing tribal compacts.”
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain
Courtesy of Senate Media Services
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, stated mobile betting must be a part of this state law since that is where much of the betting action is.
However, Chamberlain said he is optimistic it remains subject to negotiations, and he said he believes it might be a win for the nation, the tribes and for non-tribal gambling. “There’s no reason to shut the remainder of the state and the rest of the possible consumers and players and operators from getting involved in a totally safe and legal business,” he explained. “We expect to get to a place where everybody can agree and I believe we can.”
Once it seems clear that tribes would have the ability to give sports gambling in their own casinos if it is made legal for non-tribal gaming, legal advisors notice that sports gambling sets up some hard choices for tribes. The first issue is that betting on sports — on the results of matches, on scores and other outcomes — is not especially rewarding for casinos. Another is that under national law, tribes may simply offer betting over the boundaries of bookings. That makes the most-promising aspect of sport betting — remote betting online or via mobile devices — may be off limits to them, but not to non-tribal sports books.
Chamberlain said mobile gambling must be part of the state law since that is where much of the gambling action is. Part of the rationale for legalizing it state by state is to capture some of the bets now made lawfully.
“In this market and culture you need mobile access to be profitable,” Chamberlain said.
Online betting would likewise make gaming available in remote and rural parts of the country which may not have casinos or even commercial sports books nearby. One possible solution for the tribes would be to declare the gaming takes place where a player’s telephone is, but where the computer server that processes the bet is situated. That’s far from solved law, nevertheless.
“We can find our way round those problems and do it,” Chamberlain said.
Vig is chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota, which owns the Mystic Lake and Little Six casinos, didn’t shut the door on eventual tribal interest in sport gambling. He did, however, ask the country to proceed slowly.
“While there’s a desire by some to look at this issue during the current session, it seems that the public interest will be served by careful study of sports betting’s consequences in this nation, evaluation of other states’ experiences where sports gambling has been legalized, and thorough consultation with the high number of stakeholders interested in it,” Vig wrote.
A spokesman for the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association said pioneers weren’t available for interviews and that Vig’s letter are their sole statement on the issue.
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
The chair of the home committee that could consider any sports betting statements said the tribal institution’s letter doesn’t alter her position on the issue. Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, stated that there are still no patrons within her caucus pushing a bill. Ever before the tribes left their position known, Halverson stated she planned to be careful and deliberate on the subject.
“I have yet to watch language or possess anything introduced,” she explained.
But she expects laws will surface, and that she wants to have at least an information hearing so lawmakers can comprehend the consequences and listen from both backers and competitions. “I believe we’re all in learning mode,” she explained. “If something is that new, that is the legislative model typically. Things take time and we have to be deliberative about such significant changes to Minnesota law.”
In a press conference Wednesday, Walz said his fundamental position on the issue will be to legalize and regulate. But he said that should come just after a procedure for hearings and discussion. “I trust adults to make adult decisions,” he explained of gambling. “I also recognize that addiction comes in many forms, whether that be alcohol, tobacco or cannabis or sports betting and those can have social consequences that are fairly devastating.
“If the Legislature chooses to accept up that, we are definitely interested in working with them to make it right,” Walz said.

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