This article takes a look at a recent gaming lawsuit against tribes which questioned the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The multi-billion-dollar gaming industry speaks to the popularity of this globalized industry. People will gamble on nearly anything. The advent of online gaming has escalated the opportunity to engage in this popular pastime. For businesses operating a casino, maintaining clients and advancing the availability to participate in as many gaming options as possible is vital. In some areas, a gaming center is the only source of community income. When this is the case, protecting this economic source is necessary at all costs.
In 2024, Minnesota’s Running Ace casino filed a lawsuit against three tribes over what Running Ace viewed as illegal gaming practices. This lawsuit “was initially filed under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, naming high-level executives at tribal-owned casinos” (Fox 9, March 2025).
Mystic Lake and Little Six, which are owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Grand Casino Hinckley and Grand Casino Mille Lacs, which are owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and Treasure Island Resort and Casino, owned by the Prairie Island Indian Community, are all named in the Running Ace lawsuit. What’s the core intent of the lawsuit? Sue the tribes for unfair gaming practices, have the state legislation rule in favor of the non-Native casino industry, use this potential ruling to slowly move the tribes out of the gaming business, and establish a singular hand in the local gaming environment. This line of thinking for Running Ace proved to be the golden carrot it would follow for over a year.
How Did We Get Here?
The initial lawsuit filed by Running Ace was on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The suit alleges unfair gaming and racketeering practices by three tribal run casinos.
“The lawsuit by the track, which operates in Columbus in the northeast Twin Cities metro, names executives at Grand Casinos in Hinckley and Mille Lacs, owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and Treasure Island Resort & Casino, owned by the Prairie Island Indian Community” (Red Lake Nation News, April 2024).
The suit raises questions about Class III gaming practices, as defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA, 1988). The state of Minnesota is asked, by Running Ace, to pass an injunction and reparations to Running Ace over these illegal practices. Running Ace further claims unfair gaming practices that privilege the tribes.
“The unauthorized games violate the law and give tribal casinos ‘illegal and unfair competitive advantages over Running Aces,’ which also offers card games such as blackjack, Three Card Poker, and Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em, the lawsuit said” (Minnesota Star Tribune, April 2024).
The lawsuit questions the operation and articulation of the IGRA. This is a federal law and does influence state law.
“Running Aces contends the casinos have been offering “Class III” card games not authorized by state compacts under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In the compacts, both the tribes and the state agreed to limit casinos to video games of chance, known as slot machines, and blackjack, according to the Alcohol and Gaming Enforcement Division of the state Department of Public Safety” (Red Lake Nation News, April 2024).
There is more to this issue than a private casino seeking fair and equitable gaming practices. Taro Ito, the CEO of Running Ace, claims these points in a sensitive response to the lawsuit filing.
“All that we have ever sought was to be treated fairly, compete on a level playing field, take advantage of improvements within the pari-mutuel environment, and operate without fear of being eliminated,” Running Aces CEO Taro Ito said in a written statement. “It is our sincere desire to have our day in court and let the facts determine the outcome” (Minnesota Star Tribune, April 2024).
The lawsuit brought forth by Running Ace came before the close of the 2024 State legislative season. This forces the legislation to make otherwise quick decisions on a topic with a strong outcome for all parties. Literally, the state’s gaming practices are in jeopardy. In addition, the bill would provide compensation to the state from the tribe: the House proposal offers $625,000, and the Senate $3 million (Minnesota Star Tribune, April 2024). Further, this bill would allow the tribes to enter into agreements with larger online gaming businesses such as DraftKings or FanDuel.
Can’t We Just Play Fair?
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was passed in 1988 as the outcome of the lawsuit California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988).
In the landmark decision in California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the U. S. Supreme Court held that the state of California had no authority to apply its Regulatory statutes to gambling activities conducted in Indian Country.
“The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), 25 U.S.C. sections 2701 et seq., enacted in 1988, quickly followed to provide a statutory basis for the regulation of tribal games. This law allows traditional Indian gaming as well as bingo, pull tabs, lotto, punchboards, tip jars, and certain card games on tribal land. However, it requires a tribal/state compact for other forms of gaming, such as cards or slot machines. Today, nearly 240 tribes in 28 states are involved in some kind of gaming” (IGRA, updated November 2024).
This landmark case allowed tribes to offer gaming on tribal land. The fiscal responsibility of gaming tribes is to provide resources to the surrounding tribal and non-Native communities, including hiring preference for the tribe, secure infrastructure investments, education support, and savings for tribal sustainability. Each of these points helps the surrounding non-Native communities.
The stereotype of “gaming tribes” is that they are wealthy, gluttonous, self-serving, and lack the capacity to provide resources to the community. These points are clearly articulated in the IGRA and managed by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). This agency, operating as part of the Department of the Interior, is the only federal agency dealing with gaming practices. An agency with a large viewpoint of gaming regulations across the country, the NIGC would note if there were any infraction of the IGRA by the tribes questioned in the lawsuit by Running Ace.
“The suit notes that in October, Treasure Island’s gaming compact was amended to cover the Class III card games.
“Therefore, by offering Class III card games other than blackjack, these casinos have engaged in gaming that was not authorized by IGRA but instead violated Minnesota criminal law (at least until October 2023 for Treasure Island),” the lawsuit states” (Bring Me The News, April 2024).
Timing Is Everything
The lawsuit comes at a sensitive time in the passing of previous legislation related to gaming practices.
“The lawsuit comes at a time when the Minnesota Legislature is considering legalizing sports betting that would give tribes exclusive rights. It also coincides with a move by the state House of Representatives to ban horse racing last week after 500 machines were approved by the Minnesota Racing Commission” (Bring Me The News, April 2024).
At the time of the lawsuit, multiple news sources reached out the the tribes for comment. Each of the tribes did not provide any written or verbal comment on the matter. This allowed Running Ace to have a majority voice in the argument.
To allow for this bill and injunction to take place, the majority Republican state senate would have to vote in favor of the bill and decline support for the tribes.
“To pass a sports betting bill, it’s been widely assumed that Republican votes will be needed, and they will only come if the tracks are satisfied. The new lawsuit will raise the temperature of the debate that pits DFL loyalty to the tribes against Republican support for the tracks” (Yahoo! Finance, April 2024).
If this were the outcome, tribes would lose legislative support and have to pay the “unspecified damages from high-level tribal executives and managers, as well as an injunction against what it views as illegal card games” (Yahoo! Finance, April 2024). This outcome would lead to a potentially combustible application of the IGRA. For tribes, not only gaming tribes, this would impact the rights of self-determination and sovereignty protected by the IGRA and the federal government overall.
Then There Was None
In August 2025, A federal judge in Minnesota denied the company’s [Running Ace] motion to amend its complaint, leaving the March 2025 dismissal in place” (Tribal Business News, August 2025).
The outcome of this case maintains the core intent of the IGRA.
“Running Aces, a horse track and card room in Columbus, Minn., has lost its effort to bring back a lawsuit against dozens of current and former officials from three tribal casinos” (Tribal Business News, August 2025).
This devastating blow to Running Ace is consistent with reading and application of the IGRA. The judge who denied the lawsuit noted the original integrity of the IGRA, its value, and its use for tribal communities.
“As noted, the gaming that is challenged in this lawsuit is of enormous economic importance to the absent Tribes, and protecting the economic sustainability of tribes is a primary goal of IGRA specifically and federal Indian policy generally. The Court therefore has little trouble concluding that the Tribes’ interests in protecting a critical source of funds and jobs outweigh Running Aces’s interest in a forum for its claims of competitive injury” (Fox 9, March 2025).
What led Running Ace to file such a claim against a federal law? In the U.S., businesses and individuals have the right to file lawsuits when they see there is such a need. In this case, Running Ace is working to secure its financial hand in the Minnesota gaming economy. The claims Running Ace outlines in the lawsuit attempt to overturn a historic legal precedent with a focus on their financial future.
The released court documents state, “Running Aces — a bitter competitor of the Tribes — is seeking to impose crushing personal financial liability under RICO on dozens of current and former employees of the casinos” (Fox 9, March 2025).
In 2024, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which owns Mystic Lake and Little Six, provided a comment on the intent of Running Ace, breaking the initial silence on the matter.
“Running Aces’ lawsuit has no merit. All gaming conducted at Mystic Lake and Little Six Casinos complies with tribal law, federal law, and the gaming compact that was executed in 1989.
“Winning in court is not Running Aces’ real purpose in filing this case. It is a desperate stunt to attack the good reputation of tribes and tribal gaming. This lawsuit is intended to mislead the public and influence the final stages of the Minnesota Legislature’s 2024 session” (qtd. in Fox 9, March 2025).
Speaking out against this ruling, Running Ace’s President and CEO, Taro Ito, claims the dismissal was not on merit but based on procedural application.
“What recourse does a competitor or individual have when they feel like they’ve been harmed or damaged by a tribal casino? It appears there isn’t any available, because it’s required to have tribes as an indispensable party. Obviously, the tribes will just claim sovereign immunity, and the case is thrown out” (qtd. in Fox 9, March 2025).
Ito promises to appeal the ruling, which elevates the case further.
In an online gaming-driven culture, legislation to protect tribal rights of self-determination and sovereignty is necessary. Taro Ito is correct on one point: tribes will base their argument on the legality of the IGRA in conjunction with tribal sovereignty. What Ito fails to see is the importance and function of the IGRA for tribes.
Running Ace filed this claim in tunnel vision, seeking to maintain and mature their financial investments. Tribal casinos have a federal mandate to provide resources and jobs to the community, not simply gain wealth. This is the difference in the arguments and understanding of the IGRA. The original lawsuit could be seen as a knee-jerk reaction from one business to another, without gaining all the legal facts and history. Fueled by greed, Running Ace operated with the desire not to level the playing field, as Taro Ito notes. Rather, Running Ace was working to overrule tribal rights, business, self-determination, and sovereignty.
An appeal may give comfort to the lawsuit by Running Ace. Overall, the advocacy of the IGRA will prevail.
Alan Lechusza Aquallo
alan lechusza aquallo 
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