Minnesota was first to sign Class III gaming compact with tribes

Thursday, September 22, 2011  

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act became law in 1988 and, a year later, Minnesota became the first state to negotiate and sign a Class III gaming compact.

Then-governor Rudy Perpich (DFL) signed the first seven compacts in the fall of 1989, Politics in Minnesota reported. Two more were signed before he left office in 1991 and the final two came under then-governor Arne Carlson (R).

At the time, former DFL Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson said people thought tribal gaming "was going to be a nickel-and-dime operation -- just a few machines here and there."

“Well, it turned into a several-billion-dollar operation per year. Folks had no idea it was going to be this big,” Johnson was quoted as saying.

The 11 deals have produced 22 casinos throughout the state. Revenues aren't reported but some estimate that tribes are pulling in $4 billion and $10 billion every year.

Seeing dollars signs, politicians have sought to reopen the deal, with little success. The major issue is revenue sharing -- the compacts provide for none -- and they don't expire, unlike compacts in most other states.

“It’s an issue that, when I came to the Legislature, was not an issue, and when I left it was a hot-button issue,” Johnson told Politics in Minnesota. “It continues to be on the forefront, and it’s not going to go away. It’s just too much money to ignore.”

Get the Story:
20 years later, state-tribal gaming compacts still produce friction (Politics in Minnesota 9/21)