Running Aces, one of two horse racing tracks in the state, filed a federal racketeering lawsuit Tuesday, alleging the tribe’s casinos at three locations offered card games not permitted by state law.
The lawsuit by the track, which operates in Columbus in the northeast Twin Cities metro area, named executives at Grand Casinos in Hinckley and Mille Lacs, owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and Treasure Island Resort & Casino, owned by the Prairie Island Indian Community. .
Running Aces alleged that the casinos offered “Class III” card games that were not permitted by state contracts under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. In the contracts, both the tribes and the state agreed to limit the casinos to video games of chance, known as slot machines, and blackjack, according to the state Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division.
The two major casinos offer not only blackjack, but other Class III card games, such as three-card poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, which are not covered by their state contract. The same was true at Treasure Island until last October, when its compact was amended to allow other Class III gaming, the lawsuit states.
The unauthorized games violate the law and give the tribal casinos “an illegal and unfair competitive advantage over Running Aces,” which also offers card games such as blackjack, three-card poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, the lawsuit said.
“All we’ve ever sought is to be treated fairly, to compete on a level playing field, to benefit from improvements within a level playing field and to operate without fear of being eliminated,” said Running Aces CEO Taro Ito in a written statement. “It is our sincere desire to have our day in court and let the facts determine the outcome.”
The lawsuit comes with just five weeks left in the 2024 legislative session, and lawmakers have yet to decide whether to legalize mobile sports betting. The proposal creates tension with the state’s two horse tracks, including Canterbury Park in Shakopee, which want a piece of the expanded action.
Major bills in the DFL-controlled Legislature would give tribal nations the exclusive rights to partner with an established sports betting platform like DraftKings or FanDuel. The bills offer grants to share the songs, with the House proposal offering $625,000 and the Senate offering $3 million.
Traces say that the amounts on offer are not enough and mobile sports betting is threatening their existence. Two weeks ago, the Minnesota Racing Commission voted to allow historic horse racing (HHR) in May, a day after the legislature adjourned. Songs advocated for the option, saying it would provide significant revenue.
In response, DFL leaders moved quickly to introduce bills to specifically ban HHRs, which they said amounted to video slot machines in violation of tribes’ exclusive rights to offer casino gambling. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has already filed an appeal asking the state appeals court to declare the HHR illegal.
For a sports betting bill to pass, it’s widely assumed that Republican votes will be needed, and those will only come if the tracks are satisfied. The new lawsuit will raise the temperature of the debate that pits the DFL’s loyalty to tribes against Republican support for the tracks.
Running Aces is seeking unspecified damages from tribal leaders and high-level managers, as well as an injunction against what it considers illegal card games.
Tribal officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
