tribal sports betting – FairOdds Network

March 10, 2025

Many more testify against Nebraska digital sports betting than for it

Nebraska lawmakers heard three-plus hours of testimony during their first legal digital betting hearing. There was no vote, but opponents dominated the session.

On Monday (10 March) the Nebraska legislature’s general affairs committee heard from representatives from all sides of the issue concerning four legal sports betting bills.

The only thing proponents and opponents agreed on is that online wagering is already happening on the black market in Nebraska. Proponents say that legalising will give law enforcement the tools to tamp down the illegal market. Opponents counter that legalising will only increase the number of people gambling in total.

Retail betting has been available to Nebraskans in certain locations since 2023 and some lawmakers have been trying unsuccessfully for several years to add digital betting to the menu. Most recently, the issue failed to receive floor consideration during a summer special session.

Monday’s first committee hearing was for LR20CA, a constit..

January 31, 2025

Minnesota sports betting bill comprehensive, but could raise questions in Indian Country

Filed on Thursday (30 January), a comprehensive Minnesota sports betting bill could raise eyebrows within tribes. But here's a look at what else is inside.

Senator Matt Klein, a longtime legal sports betting proponent, filed SB 757, which would allow for statewide mobile sports betting with platforms tied to tribal casinos. The bill also outlines regulations for daily fantasy and would allow for betting on esports.

Minnesota lawmakers have been trying for at least four years to legalise sports betting. But finding the sweet spot with the state’s 11 tribes – who have exclusivity for gaming – and local horse tracks has proved elusive.

Klein’s bill lays out a detailed framework that would allow for 11 wagering operator licences for the state’s tribes. The tribes, in turn, could contract with management service providers for digital wagering platforms. According to the text of the bill, any bets placed outside of Indian Country would be taxed at 22%. That rate is higher than the..

January 22, 2025

ICE: California tribes won’t try for wagering legalisation in 2026

On Tuesday (21 January) a panel of California tribal leaders told ICE participants that they won't put legal sports betting on the 2026 ballot. Indian Country has reached some consensus, but polling indicates voters aren't interested.

California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman James Siva said that tribes have “come too far and have too far to go to rush into this complex sports betting (issue) which is tied to igaming”. His remarks led a chorus during the ‘State of Gambling in California: Current Trends and Future Prospects’ discussion at the ICE convention in Barcelona.

Siva was joined by Pechanga Band of Mission Indians councilmember Catalina Chacon and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians vice chairman Johnny Hernandez. The panel was the last of four put on by the Indian Gaming Association (IGA). A how-to guide for working with Indian Country, a history of how San Manuel grew gaming and a discussion about remaining growth opportunities for tribal sport..

October 23, 2024

Tribes, commercial operators aligned against sweepstakes

In a moment that seemed impossible in 2022, on Wednesday (23 October), Indian Country and the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) in the US had a meaningful conversation about how to fight – together – against sweepstakes.

Victor Rocha invited lobbyist Jeremy Kudon, who represents the SBA (comprised of BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel) to share his thoughts on the rise of sweepstakes. That is the latest “unregulated, unlicensed and untaxed” gambling to emerge in the last year.

Sweepstakes offer gaming without initially using real money. In legal sports betting and igaming, consumers stake accounts with cash or cash equivalents. In sweepstakes, the games start off free to play, but then consumers can purchase “coins” or “virtual cash” with which to wager.

Recently, the legal industry has not only taken notice of the rise of sweepstakes, but is starting to educate itself on what they say is already a multi-billion-dollar industry. The goal is to stop it from continuing to prolifer..

October 14, 2024

Tribes acknowledge Oklahoma wagering bill coming but is there a path forward?

At the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) last week Matt Morgan, head of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA), said that while tribes are open to discussing the future of sports betting, they'll stand still until Governor Kevin Stitt moves on or changes his position.
Stitt, who became Oklahoma’s governor in 2018, has had a difficult relationship with Indian country. He has been sued by lawmakers over compact negotiations and has alienated the tribes by trying to dictate what legal wagering will look like without considering sovereignty or exclusivity.

Oklahoma is the second biggest tribal market in the US behind California and has a robust land-based casino industry. The state’s 39 tribes operate more than 125 gaming locations, including some that draw customers from neighbouring Texas. But legal sports betting remains elusive.

The tribes have exclusivity for gaming in Oklahoma. Despite that, Stitt last year outlined a legal wagering framework that included tribal and commerci..

October 12, 2024

G2E: Let’s make a deal! Minnesota stakeholders have “framework” but politics still in play

Buried under the news that California tribes could bring a sports betting initiative as soon as 2026 is this: Minnesota's stakeholders have brokered a deal.
Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) executive director Andy Platto was among the panelists who joined California Nations Indian Chairman James Siva on Tuesday (8 October) on a Global Gaming Expo (G2E) panel entitled ‘Tribal Sovereignty and Sports Betting: A Delicate Balance’.

Minnesota lawmakers have been trying for multiple sessions to legalise retail and digital sports betting. It never got a vote this year, but did get through the house in 2022.

Platto, who heads up the state’s tribal alliance, has been the face and voice of Indian Country. Over time, that has meant managing relationships with charitable gaming folks, horse racetracks and, more recently, professional sports teams. The tribes in Minnesota have exclusivity for gaming in the state and already operate land-based casinos.

But legal wagering, partic..

July 10, 2024

Colorado tribe invokes federal Florida decision in suing state for right to offer statewide digital sports betting

On Monday (8 July) Colorado's Southern Ute tribe revealed during an American Indian Affairs interim study committee meeting that it has sued Colorado's governor, Jared Polis, and the state of Colorado. The tribe claims that the state has blocked its ability to offer digital sports betting.

Tribal chairman Melvin J Baker invoked the recent decision by the US Supreme Court not to hear the West Flagler vs the US Deptartment of the Interior case as clearing the way for the lawsuit. Baker said that because that case “held that the Seminole tribe was entitled to engage in statewide sports betting in Florida any legal objection to the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain from engaging in statewide sports betting is gone.”

The tribe filed suit in the US District Court for the District of Colorado on Monday. The court set a 10 October date for a scheduling and planning conference. From there, if the parties have not reached an agreement, the case would move forward in court.

Statewide d..

March 28, 2024

IGA executive director confident of California sports betting with tribal help

Jason Giles, executive director of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), believes there could yet be online sports betting in California, although he also believes the help of tribes is vital to any legalisation.

Another attempt to legalise sports betting in California failed in January after two ballots aiming to grant tribes exclusive rights were scrapped following fierce tribal opposition in the state.

Eagle1 Acquisitions Corp, the group of backers for a proposition to legalise sports betting in California, had made several amendments to its ballot initiative in December in a bid to gain increased tribal support, however the efforts ultimately failed.

In response, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) stated the failure should serve as a warning against future attempts to legalise sports betting in the state without tribal involvement.

Jason Giles, Executive director of the indian gaming association, sees operator engagement with the tribes as a positive

Howev..

March 22, 2024

State of the Union: A look back at the week that was in the US

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

As the world of sports betting continues move at warp speed, we’re doing our best to keep up and keep you in the know.

Cavaliers coach: Gambler threatened me

Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff told reporters on 20 March that a gambler had tracked down his phone number and sent “crazy messages about where I live, my kids and all that stuff”.

As reported by the Associated Press, Bickerstaff went on to say that he had shared the information with stadium security. The gambler was located and escorted out of Rocket Mortgage Field House. The coach did not press charges.

Last summer Ohio’s regulator was given increased powers to deal with bettors who threaten athletes when Governor Mike DeWine included language in his budget that would allow the Ohio Casino Control Commission to issue a lifetime ban to harassers. It was..

February 2026
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28

Tag: tribal sports betting