A federal judge in Wisconsin threw out a lawsuit challenging a "no compete" clause in a tribal-state gaming compact.

The clause is contained in the Ho-Chunk Nation's compact. If off-reservation casinos are approved, it requires the state to compensate the tribe for any losses.

The Lac Du Flambeau Band and the Bad River Band challenged the agreement. Both tribes want to establish off-reservation casinos.

But U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb said they had no case because Interior Secretary Gale Norton neither approved nor denied the compact. Norton let it go into effect after a 45-day review period.

Crabb also said the tribes didn't show how they would be harmed by the provision.

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Judge throws out tribal lawuit (AP 7/31)