Sports betting OK on Kansas Prairie Band Potawatomi tribal land
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has been given the green light to roll out sports betting — but the tribe's exact plans remain unclear, with legal uncertainty potentially limiting their options for the time being.
The state legalized sports betting last year, with gamblers allowed to start wagering on games in September, shortly before the beginning of the National Football League season.
The state's four federally recognized tribes were authorized to negotiate with Gov. Laura Kelly's administration to offer sports betting and a bill earlier this year paved the way for the state to work out a deal to amend the Prairie Band's gaming compact with the state.
Compacts are legally binding documents outlining the terms of gambling on reservations and are a prerequisite to allow for tribes to offer table games under federal law.
The Legislature last month voted overwhelmingly to approve the changes to the compact, which would allow the Prairie Band to offer app-based sports betting, provided the web server hosting the platform is contained on tribal land.
"It is complicated stuff," Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said on the Senate floor. "But I do believe this was brought forth and the state negotiated in good faith with the tribe to get this done."
Federal court case could limit or expand Prairie Band sports betting
But there are limits to where individuals can place bets through the Prairie Band.
That's because of a legal dispute making its way through the federal court system, stemming from a standoff in Florida between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the state's non-tribal casinos.
The U.S. Department of the Interior approved a deal, which was also advanced by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that would have given the Seminole tribe control of sports betting anywhere in the state.
It was believed to be sufficient that the server supporting sports betting was housed on tribal property, though U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled this to violate federal law, as it allowed for gaming on land not owned by the tribe.
Friedrich called the arrangement a "fiction" but the tribe and President Joe Biden's administration have appealed the case to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Depending on its ruling, the case could have major implications for Kansas.
The amended compact for the Prairie Band Potawatomi says that if federal law is interpreted to allow an arrangement similar to what is proposed in Florida, than the tribe also would be able to conduct sports betting statewide.
This wouldn't erase the sports betting offerings currently in operation through the four state-owned casinos but would increase competition and, potentially, draw the ire of other gambling interests in Kansas.
The Prairie Band's exact plans for sports betting, however, remain unknown. Representatives of the tribe and casino didn't respond to email and phone messages seeking comment on a timetable for rolling out wagering, though previous media reports have indicated it will be sometime in 2023.
