Legislation

Minnesota tribes oppose bid to allow non-Indian gaming

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Minnesota tribes, their employees and their supporters rallied at the State Capitol on Tuesday to oppose efforts to allow non-Indian gaming.

Senate President Michelle Fischbach (R) has introduced a bill to allow video gambling terminals in bars and restaurants while House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R) has a bill to allow electronic bingo and electronic pull tabs in bars. And there's yet another bill to allow slot machines at racetracks.

Tribes say the proposals will draw business away from their reservations, forcing them to eliminate workers. Curt Kalk, the secretary/treasurer of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians, said his tribe's revenues will drop 40 percent if a nearby racetrack offers slot machines.

"What we would see would be simply a massive transfer of jobs and economic activity away from communities around casinos," Kalk said at a rally organized by the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, the Associated Press reported.

State police estimated that at least 1,500 people attended the rally.

Get the Story:
At odds over gambling (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 4/27)
Magnus: Expanded gambling proposals ‘in play’ at Capitol (The Marshall Independent 4/27)
Gambling bills take center stage at Minn. Capitol; tribes, bar owners square off over jobs (AP 4/26)