A brief letter by a major player in the sphere of legal gambling has changed the politics around the issue of sports gambling in Minnesota. At least for today.
Last week, Charles Vig, the seat of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, wrote Gov. Tim Walz and the four legislative leaders to state the nation’s gambling tribes were not interested in adding sports betting to their offerings.
But he did not stop there. In the letter, Vig said the tribes will oppose passing of legislation to add Minnesota to the growing list of states with legalized sports gambling. “The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association continues to oppose the growth of off-reservation gambling, including the legalization of sport gambling,” he wrote.
The seven casino-owning tribes in Minnesota combine a group of allies in sports gambling betting statements this year, including groups like Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, which worries about the ill effects of gaming, including dependency.
The tribes do not have a veto over non-tribal gaming, but their voices are powerful, particularly among DFLers like Gov. Tim Walz and the new House majority. Under federal law, states need to deal in good faith to allow tribes to offer you the same types of gambling that is legal off-reservation.
Until a U.S. Supreme Court decision last spring cleared the way for countries to offer sports gambling similar to what is lawful in Nevada casino gambling books, that law was not an issue in Minnesota. Now it is. By a 6-3 majority, the court ruled in Murphy v. NCAA that Congress exceeded its authority by preventing states from legalizing and regulating sports gambling. The case was brought by New Jersey, which wanted to provide an increase to its fighting Atlantic City casinos, and had tried a series of legal moves to end the federal ban against sports betting in all states except Nevada.
From the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. wrote that Congress has the ability to pass laws to regulate sports gambling itself. However, when it decides not to, every nation is free to do so, and several have done just that.
A draft bill circulated at the Minnesota capitol in the conclusion of the 2018 session however no formal bill was filed and no hearings were held. Supporters of the law, headed by Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, are coordinating a bill for this session,.
Chamberlain, who is chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, was amazed and a little disappointed in the tribes’ position, which he found out about via Twitter. “We met together and while they are not necessarily in alignment they’re obviously worried about losing their economic base, the economic engine,” Chamberlain said. “We understand that. We’ve reassured them that we are not interested in damaging that interest or jeopardizing tribal compacts.”
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain
Courtesy of Senate Media Services
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, said mobile gambling must be part of this state law because that’s where much of the gambling action is.
However, Chamberlain said he’s optimistic it remains subject to discussions, and he said he believes it might be a triumph for the state, the tribes and to get non-tribal betting. “There’s no reason to shut out the remainder of the state and the remainder of the potential consumers and operators and players from taking part in a perfectly safe and lawful firm,” he said. “We hope to get into a place where everybody can agree and I believe we could.”
While it seems evident that tribes would have the ability to give sports gambling in their own casinos if it’s made valid for non-tribal gaming, legal advisors notice that sports betting sets up some hard choices such as tribes. The first issue is that betting on sports — on the outcomes of games, on scores and other outcomes — isn’t especially lucrative for casinos. The other is that under national law, tribes may only offer betting within the boundaries of bookings. That makes the most-promising facet of sports betting — distant betting online or via mobile devices — may be off limits to them, but not to non-tribal sports novels.
Chamberlain said cellular betting must be a part of the state law because that’s where a lot of the betting action is. Part of the rationale for legalizing it state by state would be to capture a few of the stakes now made illegally.
“In this economy and culture you require mobile access to become rewarding,” Chamberlain said.
Online betting would likewise make gambling available in remote and rural areas of the country which may not have casinos or even industrial sports books near. 1 possible solution for the tribes is to announce the gambling takes place not where a participant’s telephone is, but where the computer server which processes the bet is located. That is 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, did not shut the door on eventual tribal interest in sports betting. He did, however, ask the state to move slowly.
“While there is a desire by some to look at this matter during the current session, it seems that the general public interest will be served by careful analysis of sports gambling’s implications in this nation, examination of other nations’ experiences where sports betting betting was legalized, and comprehensive consultation with the large number of stakeholders interested in it,” Vig wrote.
A spokesman for the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association said leaders were not available for interviews and that Vig’s letter are their only statement on the issue.
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
The seat of the home committee that would consider any sports gambling bills said the tribal association’s letter does not alter her position on the problem. Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, said that there are still no sponsors in her caucus pushing a bill. Before the tribes left their position known, Halverson said she intended to be cautious and deliberate on the subject.
“I have yet to see language or have whatever introduced,” she said.
But she expects laws will surface, and she wants to have at least an info hearing so lawmakers can understand the impacts and hear out of both backers and competitions. “I believe we’re all in learning mode,” she said. “When something is that brand new, that’s the legislative model typically. Things take time and we need to be deliberative about these significant changes to Minnesota law.”
In a press conference Wednesday,” Walz stated his fundamental position on the issue will be to legalize and regulate. But he explained that should come just after a process of hearings and debate. “I trust adults to make adult decisions,” he said of gaming. “I also realize that dependence comes in many forms, whether that be alcohol, tobacco or cannabis or sports betting and these can have social consequences which are fairly catastrophic.
“If the Legislature chooses to accept that up, we are definitely interested in working with them to get it right,” Walz said.

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