A brief letter from a major player in the world of legal gambling has changed the politics around the issue of sports betting in Minnesota. At least for now.
Last week, Charles Vig, the seat of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, composed 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 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 expansion of off-reservation gambling, including the legalization of sports gambling,” he wrote.
The seven casino-owning tribes in Minnesota join a group of unusual allies in sports gambling betting statements this year, including groups such as Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, which worries about the ill effects of gaming, including addiction.
The tribes don’t have a veto over non-tribal gambling, but their voices are influential, especially among DFLers such as Gov. Tim Walz and the new House majority. Under federal law, states must bargain in good faith to permit tribes to offer the very same kinds of gambling that is legal off-reservation.
Until a U.S. Supreme Court decision last spring cleared the way for states to provide sports gambling like what’s legal in Nevada casino sports books, that legislation was not a problem 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 had been brought by New Jersey, which wanted to give a boost to its fighting Atlantic City casinos, and had attempted a set of legal moves to end the federal ban against sports gambling in all states except Nevada.
From the vast majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. wrote that Congress has the ability to pass legislation to regulate sports betting itself. However, if it decides not to, every state is free to do so, and many have already done exactly that.
A draft bill circulated in the Minnesota capitol in the end of this 2018 session but no formal invoice was filed and no hearings were held. Supporters of the legislation, led by Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, are preparing a bill for this session,.
Chamberlain, who’s chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, was surprised and a bit disappointed at the tribes’ position, which he discovered about through 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 fascination or jeopardizing tribal compacts.”
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain
Courtesy of Senate Media Services
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, stated cellular gambling must be a part of the state law because that’s where much of the betting action is.
However, Chamberlain said he’s optimistic it remains subject to discussions, and he said he thinks it might be a triumph for the state, the tribes and to get non-tribal betting. “There’s no reason to shut out the rest of the state and the rest of the possible customers and players and operators from getting involved in a totally safe and legal business,” he said. “We expect to get into a location where everyone can agree and I believe we could.”
While it seems evident that tribes would be able to offer sports gambling in their casinos if it is made valid for non-tribal gaming, legal advisors note that sports gambling sets up some hard choices such as tribes. The primary issue is that gambling on sports — about the results of games, on scores and other outcomes — isn’t especially lucrative for casinos. Another is that under federal law, tribes may simply offer gambling within the boundaries of bookings. That makes the most-promising aspect of sports betting — remote betting online or via mobile devices — might be off limits to these, but not to non-tribal sports books.
Chamberlain said cellular betting must be part of this state law because that is where much of the gambling action is. Part of the rationale for legalizing it state by state is to catch some of the bets made illegally.
“In this economy and culture you require mobile access to become profitable,” Chamberlain said.
Online betting would likewise make gaming available in rural and remote parts of the country that might not have casinos or even industrial sports books near. 1 possible solution for those tribes is to declare the gambling takes place not where a player’s phone is, but in which the computer server which processes the bet is located. That’s far from solved law, nevertheless.
“We can find our way around those issues and do it,” Chamberlain said.
Vig is chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota, which owns the Mystic Lake and Little Seven casinos, did not close the door on eventual tribal interest in sports gambling. He did, however, ask the state to proceed slowly.
“While there is a desire by some to look at this matter during the current session, it seems that the public interest would be served by careful analysis of sports betting’s consequences within this nation, examination of other states’ experiences where sports 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 pioneers were not readily available for interviews and 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 would consider any sports gambling statements said the tribal institution’s letter doesn’t change her position on the problem. Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, said there are still no patrons within her caucus pushing a statement. Before the tribes made their position known, Halverson stated she intended to be cautious and deliberate on the topic.
“I’ve yet to see language or possess whatever introduced,” she said.
But she anticipates legislation will surface, and she wants to possess at least an info hearing so lawmakers can comprehend the consequences and listen from both backers and opponents. “I believe we’re all in learning mode,” she explained. “When something is that brand new, that is the legislative model generally. Things take time and we have to be deliberative about such significant changes to Minnesota law.”
In a press conference Wednesday, Walz stated his fundamental position on the problem is to legalize and regulate. But he said that should come just after a process of hearings and debate. “I trust adults to make adult decisions,” he said of gambling. “I also recognize that dependence comes in many forms, if that’s alcohol, tobacco or cannabis or sports betting and these can have societal consequences that are fairly devastating.
“If the Legislature chooses to accept that up, we are certainly interested in working with them to get it right,” Walz said.

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