Colorado: Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Challenges Sports Betting in Lawsuit

Colorado is one of the 38 states where sports betting is live and legal, offering millions of customers a wide range of retail and mobile betting options. While the market in the state has matured since its 2020 launch, a couple of Tribal operators are yet to introduce their services as currently, the Colorado Division of Gaming is blocking their efforts.

Native American Tribe Joins Lawsuit Against Colorado

This left the Southern Ute Indian Tribe no other option but to file a lawsuit against Colorado, naming the state’s governor, Jared Polis, along with gaming officials as defendants. As suggested by a recent report from CPR, another Tribe recently joined this lawsuit.

This was the case for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, who have reportedly joined the legal battle against Colorado along with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. The Tribes’ main concern is the interpretation of a 1995 agreement between them and the state.

The Tribes argue that under this agreement, they are able to accept sports bets from all across the state, as long as the servers required for the activity are on Tribal lands. The state previously argued that this is not the case, insisting that the Tribes can only accept sports bets from customers located on tribal lands.

Ultimately, the efforts of the Southern Ute Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe seek federal court to determine that their efforts are in accordance with the state’s gaming regulation. In case the court sides with the Tribes, this would enable them to offer statewide sports betting, while at the same time preventing the Colorado Division of Gaming from challenging the Tribe’s actions in court or obstructing them from offering betting.

The Legal Battle Is Similar to a Case in Florida

The Tribe’s lawsuit points to a similar case from Florida. The case stemmed from a gambling compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe that permitted the latter to offer exclusive online sports betting statewide.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued that the aforementioned gaming compact was in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). However, after years in court, earlier this summer, the US Supreme Court denied a hearing of an appeal of the lawsuit, effectively siding with the Seminole Tribe and recognizing the gaming compact’s legality under IGRA.

As the situation is similar, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Southern Ute Tribe argue that they can offer legal bets across the state under the existing gaming agreement with Colorado. Still, the case is yet to gain meaningful traction and judging by the situation in Florida, it may be years before the legal battle is resolved.