Michigan Tribe Challenges State Keno Game

MANISTEE, Michigan – As reported by the Ludington Daily News: "Little River Band of Ottawa Indians officials believe Michigan's Club Keno games in state bars and restaurants violate the gambling agreement between the tribe and state, and they want to halt payments of their slot machine profits to Michigan.

"Glenn Zaring, public information director for the tribe's ogema, Lee Sprague, said this morning that he does not believe the tribe intends to stop making payments to local governments.

"At issue is the 1998 agreement between the state and tribal governments that allowed the Little River Band to build a casino in Manistee Township as long as the tribe paid 8 percent of its slot machine profits to the state government and 2 percent of those profits to local governments.

"In a press release issued Tuesday, the tribe said, 'The compacts (gambling agreements between the state and tribes) provide that the tribes would continue their 8 percent revenue sharing payments only so long as no other person, other than the three casinos licensed in the City of Detroit and the Native American tribes operating casinos under the authority of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, operate electronic games of chance or commercial casino games.'

"The Little River Band believes Michigan's Club Keno game violates that clause of the compact and announced Tuesday that it agrees with the state that the issue should be decided in federal court…"