The Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado is suing Colorado Governor Jared Polis over what they say are his efforts to bring Indian gaming under state control. In their lawsuit, the tribe alleges that the State of Colorado did not consult them when it rolled out regulated sports betting and that it also is illegally attempting to regulate their gaming operations.
Under the terms of Colorado’s Indian gaming compact, the Utes are granted the authority to run their own gaming operations with almost no interference from the state. The only catch is that the tribe can only offer “authorized” gaming in the state.
In their court filings, the Tribe says that the state is improperly blocking them from Colorado’s booming regulated sports betting market by improperly requiring them to obtain a sports betting license. They say, and a recent case in Florida backs up that claim, that Indian gaming is sovereign and does not fall under state control.
The Utes further allege that the State is motivated by a feat that operators will move their servers to tribal land in a effort to skirt the state’s 10 percent gaming tax. “The anti-sovereignty approach of defendants — seeking to unlawfully control the tribe’s governmental activities and control the use of the tribe’s money — is shocking and entirely unjustified,” according to a report in the Colorado Sun.
It’s the Utes hope that a judge will require the State of Colorado to both acknowledge that they are authorized to offer regulated sports betting and that it also issue an injunction further keeping the Colorado Gaming Commission out of tribal gaming in general.