Indian Gaming > Fond du Lac Band cuts city's casino payout

August 18, 2009

Fond du Lac Band cuts city's casino payout

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians will no longer make annual casino payments to the city of Duluth, Minnesota.

The tribe has been sharing 19 percent of gross slot machine revenues from the Fond-du-Luth Casino for the last 25 years. But Chairwoman Karen Diver said the annual payout is no longer necessary.

“We’re reviewing all of our historical obligations, much like any administration, and we find this arrangement to be exploitive to the band," Diver told The Duluth News Tribune. "We have to put [members’] needs first.”

The tribe has shared more than $80 million with the city, whose leaders depend on the money for infrastructure needs. Officials say they will take the tribe to court to enforce an agreement that paved the way for the casino.

Get the Story:
Tribe Stops Giving City Casino Proceeds (Northland News Center 8/17)
Duluth To Take Fond du Lac Band To Court (AP 8/17)
Fond du Lac band stops casino payments to city (The Duluth News Tribune 8/18)
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