Tribal Sports Betting: Three Models of Legalization

Session Title

Session 1-4-D: Policy and Regulation, Part 3

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation

Location

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Start Date

23-5-2023 3:45 PM

End Date

23-5-2023 5:15 PM

Disciplines

American Politics | Gaming Law | Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Abstract

Abstract: In the wake of the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a majority of states have legalized sports wagering. In states where tribes operate gaming, states have varied approaches to authorizing tribal sports wagering. A state’s regulatory approach impacts tribes’ sports betting operations in multiple ways: whether and where tribes can offer mobile wagering, what in-state commercial competition tribal operations will face, and to what extent state law and state regulations will apply to a tribe’s sports-betting operations. In this article, we identify emerging empirical trends and specify the three most-prevalent state regulatory approaches to tribal sports wagering on a national level: the Compact Model, under which tribal sports betting is conducted and regulated according to federal law and the tribal-state compact, and is confined to Indian lands; the Commercial Model, under which tribes may operate sports betting under state license and in direct competition with commercial operators; and the Combined Model, in which tribal sports betting is conducted and regulated through a combination of federal law and the tribal-state compact (for tribal sports betting conducted on Indian lands), and state law (for tribal sports betting conducted outside of Indian lands but within the state’s borders).

Implications: By categorizing and defining these regulatory models, we intend to assist tribal and state officials, as well as tribal and commercial operators and other interested parties, in understanding how each model may be implemented, identifying the implications of each model as well as variants within each model, and determining which model best serves the shared policy goals of tribes and states.

Keywords

Sports betting, tribal gaming, sports wagering, Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, regulation, state law

Author Bios

Kathryn R.L. Rand, J.D. is Floyd B. Sperry Professor of Law and Steven Andrew Light, Ph.D. is Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota, where they co-direct the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy. Light and Rand have published, presented, and consulted extensively on the law, policy, regulation, and socioeconomic impacts of gaming. They have co-authored three books considered standards in the field, including INDIAN GAMING LAW, 2d ed. (2019), and more than 60 other publications. They are quoted widely in such outlets as New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Las Vegas Weekly, NPR, and Indian Country Today. In spring 2022, they were Inaugural Visiting Professors in Indian Nations Gaming & Governance at the Boyd School of Law at UNLV, where they also are Senior Distinguished Fellows in Tribal Gaming at the International Center for Gaming Regulation (ICGR).

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May 23rd, 3:45 PM May 23rd, 5:15 PM

Tribal Sports Betting: Three Models of Legalization

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Abstract: In the wake of the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a majority of states have legalized sports wagering. In states where tribes operate gaming, states have varied approaches to authorizing tribal sports wagering. A state’s regulatory approach impacts tribes’ sports betting operations in multiple ways: whether and where tribes can offer mobile wagering, what in-state commercial competition tribal operations will face, and to what extent state law and state regulations will apply to a tribe’s sports-betting operations. In this article, we identify emerging empirical trends and specify the three most-prevalent state regulatory approaches to tribal sports wagering on a national level: the Compact Model, under which tribal sports betting is conducted and regulated according to federal law and the tribal-state compact, and is confined to Indian lands; the Commercial Model, under which tribes may operate sports betting under state license and in direct competition with commercial operators; and the Combined Model, in which tribal sports betting is conducted and regulated through a combination of federal law and the tribal-state compact (for tribal sports betting conducted on Indian lands), and state law (for tribal sports betting conducted outside of Indian lands but within the state’s borders).

Implications: By categorizing and defining these regulatory models, we intend to assist tribal and state officials, as well as tribal and commercial operators and other interested parties, in understanding how each model may be implemented, identifying the implications of each model as well as variants within each model, and determining which model best serves the shared policy goals of tribes and states.