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The North Dakota attorney general's office cannot stop the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa from pursuing a casino with electronic bingo, even if the machines bear a strong resemblance to slot machines.
That's what Wayne Stenehjem said he told tribal officials when they met with him Thursday.
Despite his objections to off-reservation gaming, he said, "there's not much I could do in my official capacity to prevent a Class 2 casino of the kind they're talking about."
But, he added, the governor still could do plenty.
Which means nothing really has changed for the tribe.
Turtle Mountain officials are working to develop a casino just south of Grand Forks. To do so, they need to convert the land to trust land, which means it comes under tribal jurisdiction.
That's where the governor still has the power to stop them. According to Stenehjem, the federal government might agree to the conversion and the governor still can veto the whole deal.
The issue of electronic bingo arose earlier this year when tribal officials, stymied by the governor's refusal to let them have slot machines in their casino. Slot machines are considered Class 3 gaming devices and would require an amendment of the state gaming compact.
Gov. John Hoeven has said he wouldn't support that because it would be a significant expansion of gambling in the state.
After some research, the tribe's consultants found that they could substitute slot machines with electronic bingo, which offers a similar experience, but is not regulated as Class 3 gaming. That means the compact would not have to be amended.
Hoeven said a few weeks ago through his legal counsel Duane Houdek that he considered electronic bingo to be essentially the same as slot machines: "If you're trying to simulate a casino, to make it look and feel like a casino, it is still an expansion of gambling in the state."
That apparently doesn't mean he can treat them like Class 3 gaming devices. It just means that's his political position and he'll do what's in his power to stop the Grand Forks casino. Stenehjem said that would mean exercising his veto.
But there is a silver lining for the tribe in what the attorney general said Thursday. Tribal chairman Ken Davis has said the tribe might decide to put electronic bingo casinos in trust lands it already has near Williston, N.D., and between Minot and Bismarck. The governor's veto wouldn't apply there and the attorney general couldn't regulate the bingo machines.
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