ND tribes want sole rights to online gambling
Groups look to governor to approve the idea
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota’s five Native American tribes are seeking exclusive rights to host internet gambling and sports betting in the state, a monopoly worth millions, just a year after legislators turned aside a push by one big national player to allow it in the state.
The tribes are turning to Republican Gov. Doug Burgum to approve the idea under tribal-state agreements known as compacts, the first of which was signed in 1992.
The current compacts expire at the end of this year and only Burgum can approve them, said Deb McDaniel, North Dakota’s top gambling regulator.
The tribes argue their casinos have been hurt by the explosion of electronic pull tab machines statewide after they were legalized in 2017, with North Dakotans pouring almost $1.75 billion into the machines in fiscal 2022.
Their proposal, obtained by The Associated Press, is still in draft form. A public hearing on a final proposal is set for Oct. 21, McDaniel said.
DraftKings, a big player in the U.S. mobile gambling market, supported legislation and a failed resolution last year to allow sports betting in North Dakota to join about two dozen other states.
The company said at the time that sports wagering already is taking place in North Dakota, with an estimated 138,000 people betting more than $355 million in illegal offshore markets annually each year.
The company did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the tribes’ proposal. FanDuel, another major player in the mobile gambling market, said it had no comment.