By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe is suing Gov. Jared Polis and the director of the Colorado Division of Gaming, Christopher Schroder, saying the administration is illegally freezing tribes out of the online sports betting market, in part, to maximize state tax collections.
The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges the state sought to exclude the tribe from internet sports betting by acting in bad faith, using delay tactics and belatedly making legal arguments that conflict with federal law and a state gaming compact with the tribe.
“Enough is enough,” Southern Ute Chairman Melvin Baker told Colorado lawmakers during an American Indian Affairs Interim Study Committee meeting Monday. “Litigation is not something we like to do. We like to resolve our differences amicably. We have spent years trying to do so, but here, we have no choice.”