Minnesota Supreme Court to determine whether non-Native card clubs are allowed to provide electronic gaming tables
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
The Minnesota Supreme Court's Dilemma: Electronic Gambling Tables
Unraveling the Tension
The Minnesota Supreme Court is caught in a tricky predicament: determining whether electronic gambling tables, powered by Interblock technology, at Running Aces contravene the state's deal with Native American tribes, granting them exclusive rights to video games of chance.
The court recently convened to discuss the integration of these games, which allow for electronic blackjack, poker, and baccarat, at Running Aces – a horse track about 40 minutes north of the Twin Cities. Despite serving as a card club, this establishment is barred from operating gambling devices by both state statute and agreements between the state and the 11 federally recognized tribes in Minnesota.
Josh Peterson, representing the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, weighed in on the matter, stating, "The implementation of these games in the metropolitan area takes different customers from the casinos."
Understanding the Basics
- Minnesota's Gaming Landscape: Minnesota has arrangements with Native American tribes that usually involve exclusive rights to specific types of gaming, such as video games of chance. These deals are designed to ensure tribal monopolies on certain gaming activities, both on and potentially off tribal lands.
- Interblock Tech: Interblock is a tech company that manufactures electronic table games. These games mimic traditional table games rather than operating like slot machines, which might affect their classification under Minnesota law.
- Running Aces: Running Aces is a horse track in Minnesota. The incorporation of electronic table games might be seen as an addition to existing gaming options, rather than a direct competitor to tribal gaming operations, depending on the classification of electronic table games under Minnesota law.
- Agreement Violations: If Minnesota's agreements with Native American tribes exclude electronic table games, then Running Aces' use of Interblock technology might not flout these agreements. However, if these agreements cover all forms of electronic gaming, or if electronic table games are deemed harmful to tribal exclusivity, a conflict could arise.
Without a clear understanding of the exact terms of the agreements between Minnesota and Native American tribes regarding electronic gaming, it's challenging to definitively say whether Running Aces' use of Interblock technology breaches these agreements. A thorough examination of the agreements' language and definitions of "video games of chance" would be necessary to reach a conclusion.
- The electronic gambling tables at Running Aces, powered by Interblock technology, which include electronic versions of blackjack, poker, and baccarat, have sparked a debate as to whether they fall under the Native American tribes' exclusive rights to video games of chance, as per the agreements between Minnesota and the tribes.
- The integration of Interblock's casino-and-gambling technology, allowing for casino-games such as blackjack, poker, and baccarat at Running Aces, has raised concerns about whether it violates the exclusive rights granted to Native American tribes in Minnesota to operate such casino-games.
