G2E: Tribal leaders urge caution in sports-betting regulations

October 14, 2019 11:02 PM
  • Mark Gruetze, CDC Gaming Reports
October 14, 2019 11:02 PM
  • Mark Gruetze, CDC Gaming Reports

Native American tribes must be cautious about the nationwide rush to legalize sports betting because of the potential threat to their casinos and the economic development they provide, panelists said on the opening day of the Global Gaming Expo.

Story continues below

“The industry wants us to go, go, go, and the tribes are saying slow, slow, slow. That comes from an abundance of caution because we have no other choice,” said Victor Rocha, president of Victor Strategies and owner and editor of Pechanga.net.

Rocha moderated a Monday panel discussion titled Tribal Leadership Council: The Next Five Years for Tribal Gaming. On the panel were Ernie Stevens Jr., chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association in Washington, D.C.; Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota; and Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians.

Since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 overturned a federal law banning sports betting outside Nevada, 11 states have legalized sportsbooks. Tribal casinos worry that adding sports betting in their states would require renegotiating their compacts with individual states and threaten their exclusive right to gaming.

“We’re going to be part of this industry as sovereign nations, whether it’s sports betting, the Internet or anywhere (else),” Stevens said.

Macarro, whose tribe operates the largest gaming facility in the Western states, said state legislation must be crafted carefully to avoid loopholes, unintended or not, that could lead to online gaming.

Benjamin said tribes are not the only ones affected by legalized sports betting, citing racetrack operators and pull-tab distributors in her states. She said Minnesota should take time to examine experiences in other states’ sports-betting operations, because “a lot of mistakes” are likely to come to light.

Rocha said he’s never seen an issue that has that has developed so much attention in such a short time.

“Watch the industry,” he advised. “Be careful. You need to get in front of it because this is a much bigger issue than us.”

Macarro said sports betting could be a boon to tribes, but now is the time to ensure regulations prevent sports betting and online gaming from threatening brick-and-mortar casinos.

“There are a whole lot of lives at stake,” he said.

Stevens noted that the panel discussion fell on Indigenous Peoples Day, which honors Native American culture, and pledged that tribes will shape the future of gaming.

“We are going to be part of every level of expansion,” he said. “At every level – internet, sports betting, even the old-school way – they’re trying to get out in front of us and leave us behind. We can’t afford to let them do that.”

Macarro said that American society has normalized sports betting, even where it is not legal. That means, he said, that tribes must prepare to make their case for regulations that preserve their rights.

“We have to anticipate,” he said. “If we’re prepared, it will be a happy ending for everybody.”

Tribes must ask two questions about sports betting, Rocha said: what am I giving up, and what am I getting in return.

“This isn’t us being obstructionist,” he said. “We have no other choice but to be careful.”