A tortuous tangle of federal, state, and local rules, plus the coronavirus pandemic, block many tribal casinos’ efforts to add in-person and online sports betting, four experts said Wednesday.
“If you just want to get a kiosk in a tribal casino, you might wonder why it’s so hard,” said Jason Giles, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association. While mentioning that tribes in Mississippi and New Mexico have launched sports betting, he cited a “complex relationship” of national Indian laws, separate tribal governments, state laws, and state-tribal gaming compacts that keep many others from following suit.
“It’s hard to sort through,” he added.
Giles moderated a Virtual Global Gaming Expo panel discussion on “Sports Betting and Tribal Gaming: The Year It All Came Together.” Serving on the panel were:
- Bryan Newland, tribal chairperson of Bay Mills Indian Community in Brimley, Mich.; the Bay Mills tribe, whose casino is “a long way from anywhere,” recently signed an agreement with DraftKings to offer online casino gaming and sports-betting as a commercial operator in Michigan.
- Matt Morgan, executive officer of gaming for Chickasaw Nation’s commerce department and chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association. Sports betting is on hold in Oklahoma over several issues, including a legal dispute involving Gov. Kevin Stitt and the 34 tribes that have gaming compacts with the state.
- Aurene Martin, managing partner of Spirit Rock Consulting, Inc., of Alexandria, Va., the largest Native American-owned lobbying firm in the United States.
Newland called online wagering “a huge opportunity for a remote, small tribe” operating a casino about 400 miles north of Detroit and 450 miles east of Minneapolis. He said the 12 Michigan tribes that have obtained online gaming licenses will function as commercial operators for games taking place off the reservation. Bay Mills’ land-based casino is adding a retail sportsbook, which will function as part of the tribe’s compact with the state.
“We’re going to have lots of options and do that here at home and statewide. (It will) expand our footprint and allow us to operate if we have to close our casino again during the pandemic,” Newland said.
Martin said a “lack of continuity” between federal and state laws often prevents tribes from offering mobile sports betting. Federal law requires Indian gaming to occur on Indian lands, she explained, and courts have ruled that putting mobile-gaming servers on tribal land is not enough to meet that requirement.
“There are states and tribes that definitely want to come to (mobile betting) agreements, and they can’t,” she said.
She said the federal Wire Act, designed to curb organized interstate gambling that took effect in 1961, needs to be rewritten to address the technological changes, addition of Indian gaming and the expansion of commercial gaming. However, the new Congress is more likely to put its focus on the pandemic before turning to the Wire Act or other issues, she said.
Morgan said Oklahoma, with 38 tribes and more than 130 gaming facilities, is the third largest gambling market in the country, behind Nevada and California. He noted that many people who would place sports bets do not gamble on other games.
“We’re not trying to create a sports-betting market,” he said. “We’re trying to take sports-betting customers away from the illegal black market.”
He said one positive that came from the legal battle with the governor’s office was that tribes began to hash out differences on several issues, including sports betting.
“One big question mark in Oklahoma is ‘who’s sitting on the other side of the table? Are they ready to work in partnership to bring everyone together?’” he said. If not, “You’ll continue to see tribes be patient.”
