New study finds tribal gaming industry spurs $1.7 billion in economic activity for Minnesota
A slot machine is seen in Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minn.
Michel Curi via Flickr
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: Well, time now for our weekly check in with reporters who cover greater Minnesota. Today, we're talking to reporter Melissa Olson from our Native News team. And this week, she looked into a study on the economic impact of tribal gaming here in Minnesota. She's here in the studio with me now to tell us more about it. Thanks for being here, Melissa.
MELISSA OLSON: Hi, Nina.
NINA MOINI: So what got you to look into the results of this study? What perked up your ears?
MELISSA OLSON: So the study is from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. And I had not seen any recent data or any kind of reports from MIGA for a while. And as you know, I do some-- I do a lot of reporting on Indigenous affairs here.
As it turns out, this is the first study to look at the impact of tribal gaming in about seven years. There was a different report by the National Indian Gaming Association that came out earlier this year that looked at the overall impact of gaming across the country. But this report is specific to tribal gaming in Minnesota and the economic impact of Indian tribes here in the state.
So the data was collected in 2023 by MIGA and Klas Robinson, a law firm hired by the industry organization. I had an opportunity to talk with Andy Platto, MIGA's executive director. Platto walked me through the report this week. He underlined what he says is the importance of gaming for tribal economies, saying tribal nations rely heavily on gaming revenue to create an economic base for tribal economies in lieu of a tax base.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
MELISSA OLSON: What he pointed out, though, is that the state also benefits from that economic activity.
NINA MOINI: So tell me about the outcomes of the study and what was most interesting to you.
MELISSA OLSON: What I found most interesting in this study is what it had to say about the number of people employed by tribal casinos. According to the study, in 2023, tribal casinos employed more than 10,000 people statewide, about 70% of whom worked full-time jobs. Those full-time and part time workers received more than $500 million in earnings and benefits and paid $110 million in payroll taxes.
Another important data point is that tribal casinos in Minnesota purchased more than $600 million in goods and services for ongoing operations, and more than half that amount was purchased from Minnesota vendors, according to the study. And there was one more fact that jumped out at me. The study shows that about 19 million people visited tribal casinos in 2023 and that casinos, when combined, are the state's second largest tourist attraction, second only to the Mall of America.
NINA MOINI: Wow, I didn't that either. Thank you for sharing that. So can you paint a picture more so of who benefits from these enterprises, how they do have this ripple effect on the economy?
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah, they use some jargon in this study to describe that ripple effect, a measure that they call a multiplier impact, so those businesses that supply tribal businesses. The other part of that formula is the money that goes home with employees who then purchase goods and services for their homes and their communities. And that ripples out to area businesses. This study found that those multipliers from tribal casinos generate $1.7 billion in economic activity for the state. And then the study goes on to break that down.
NINA MOINI: OK, so in your reporting, how are you thinking about data that's collected by tribes and for tribes and how that does make its way into the broader economy?
MELISSA OLSON: There's a lot of rich reporting to be done on tribal economies. It might be helpful to that the data collected by tribes belongs to tribes, and it's up to them to decide how to share it out. And often, when reporting on tribal nations, I'm looking for public data that describes relationships between tribes and non-tribal entities.
When it comes to this study, Andy Platto told me that MIGA, their primary objective in releasing this data on gaming is to protect tribal gaming interests. And that's an obvious interest of theirs. In going through the data, I have questions, for example, about how the spending by tribal nations might impact different specific regions across the state. And that by itself might help us better report on stories in those regions.
NINA MOINI: And so what does the report suggest about the role of tribal government in Minnesota's overall economic health?
MELISSA OLSON: Tribal nations are located in some of the most remote parts of the state. Think about Bois Forte Band, way up near the Canadian border, or Grand Portage, Lake Superior Chippewa, north of Grand Marais. According to this study, the role of tribal gaming in Minnesota is important to the economic vitality of those rural Minnesota communities.
The study points out that, when combined, tribal casinos in Minnesota would rank as the 17th largest employer in the state. That places tribal gaming alongside health care companies, banks, and federal and state governments. The same is true for non-gaming enterprises. According to the data collected here, the study found that there are an additional 1,500 people employed by non-gaming tribal businesses.
NINA MOINI: Melissa, how might this information be relevant to conversations that are going to be coming up, especially at the state legislature?
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah, I talked briefly with Andy Platto about the possibility of the Minnesota state legislature passing sports betting. There have been legislative proposals for the past several years that would allow tribal nations to have the right to sports betting in the state. Certainly, this data is relevant to those discussions.
I asked Platto who the audience is for this report. He works as a lobbyist, or has worked as a lobbyist, at the state legislature for a number of years, and that's a big part of how he came to lead MIGA. So he takes a similar approach when putting this report into the hands of legislators. He says, he really has an audience of 202 people, 201 legislators and one governor. And Platto says he hopes the public will also take an interest in this study.
NINA MOINI: Does the report raise any other questions that you'd want to explore just in future reporting? It seems like there was a lot in there.
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah, there really is. I think, for me, it's an opening to talk more about the ways tribal nations are diversifying their businesses. One of the things that Platto mentioned is that this report, in some ways, hints at how tribes are diversifying their businesses. Earlier this year, I reported on the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe purchasing the naming rights to the Downtown St. Paul hockey arena, which is now called Grand Casino Arena, formerly the Xcel Energy Center.
In his address to Band members, Chief Executive Virgil Wind of the Mille Lacs Band talked about this idea that the tribe's gaming enterprises were stagnating a little bit. And that was one of the reasons the band decided to partner with the Minnesota Wild. This study doesn't provide hard numbers in terms of the Mille Lacs Band's economy. Again, that type of data isn't accessible outside the Band. But it does help us ask better questions about how those partnerships and relationships between a tribal nation and others are a benefit to the tribe and to the state.
NINA MOINI: Right. OK, so anything else that you're working on right now that you're excited about? We're desk buddies, so I know Melissa Olson is working hard for the public, working those phones. [LAUGHS] What else are you working on you could give us a sneak peek of?
MELISSA OLSON: Well, you've probably overheard me then talking about tribal cannabis.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah. I think this data also provides some insight about how we might think about tribal cannabis and reporting on that into the future. I'm really interested in better understanding how small tribes are going to pay for the costs associated with regulating their cannabis markets. There are now six tribal nations who have signed compacts, cannabis compacts with the state.
And if we think about this study and the emerging tribal cannabis market, one question we might ask is, what might be the impact of tribal cannabis to the state's economy over the next several years and going forward.
NINA MOINI: You'll be looking into that. Thanks so much, Melissa.
MELISSA OLSON: You're welcome, Nina.
NINA MOINI: That was MPR News Native News Reporter Melissa Olson.
MELISSA OLSON: Hi, Nina.
NINA MOINI: So what got you to look into the results of this study? What perked up your ears?
MELISSA OLSON: So the study is from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. And I had not seen any recent data or any kind of reports from MIGA for a while. And as you know, I do some-- I do a lot of reporting on Indigenous affairs here.
As it turns out, this is the first study to look at the impact of tribal gaming in about seven years. There was a different report by the National Indian Gaming Association that came out earlier this year that looked at the overall impact of gaming across the country. But this report is specific to tribal gaming in Minnesota and the economic impact of Indian tribes here in the state.
So the data was collected in 2023 by MIGA and Klas Robinson, a law firm hired by the industry organization. I had an opportunity to talk with Andy Platto, MIGA's executive director. Platto walked me through the report this week. He underlined what he says is the importance of gaming for tribal economies, saying tribal nations rely heavily on gaming revenue to create an economic base for tribal economies in lieu of a tax base.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
MELISSA OLSON: What he pointed out, though, is that the state also benefits from that economic activity.
NINA MOINI: So tell me about the outcomes of the study and what was most interesting to you.
MELISSA OLSON: What I found most interesting in this study is what it had to say about the number of people employed by tribal casinos. According to the study, in 2023, tribal casinos employed more than 10,000 people statewide, about 70% of whom worked full-time jobs. Those full-time and part time workers received more than $500 million in earnings and benefits and paid $110 million in payroll taxes.
Another important data point is that tribal casinos in Minnesota purchased more than $600 million in goods and services for ongoing operations, and more than half that amount was purchased from Minnesota vendors, according to the study. And there was one more fact that jumped out at me. The study shows that about 19 million people visited tribal casinos in 2023 and that casinos, when combined, are the state's second largest tourist attraction, second only to the Mall of America.
NINA MOINI: Wow, I didn't that either. Thank you for sharing that. So can you paint a picture more so of who benefits from these enterprises, how they do have this ripple effect on the economy?
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah, they use some jargon in this study to describe that ripple effect, a measure that they call a multiplier impact, so those businesses that supply tribal businesses. The other part of that formula is the money that goes home with employees who then purchase goods and services for their homes and their communities. And that ripples out to area businesses. This study found that those multipliers from tribal casinos generate $1.7 billion in economic activity for the state. And then the study goes on to break that down.
NINA MOINI: OK, so in your reporting, how are you thinking about data that's collected by tribes and for tribes and how that does make its way into the broader economy?
MELISSA OLSON: There's a lot of rich reporting to be done on tribal economies. It might be helpful to that the data collected by tribes belongs to tribes, and it's up to them to decide how to share it out. And often, when reporting on tribal nations, I'm looking for public data that describes relationships between tribes and non-tribal entities.
When it comes to this study, Andy Platto told me that MIGA, their primary objective in releasing this data on gaming is to protect tribal gaming interests. And that's an obvious interest of theirs. In going through the data, I have questions, for example, about how the spending by tribal nations might impact different specific regions across the state. And that by itself might help us better report on stories in those regions.
NINA MOINI: And so what does the report suggest about the role of tribal government in Minnesota's overall economic health?
MELISSA OLSON: Tribal nations are located in some of the most remote parts of the state. Think about Bois Forte Band, way up near the Canadian border, or Grand Portage, Lake Superior Chippewa, north of Grand Marais. According to this study, the role of tribal gaming in Minnesota is important to the economic vitality of those rural Minnesota communities.
The study points out that, when combined, tribal casinos in Minnesota would rank as the 17th largest employer in the state. That places tribal gaming alongside health care companies, banks, and federal and state governments. The same is true for non-gaming enterprises. According to the data collected here, the study found that there are an additional 1,500 people employed by non-gaming tribal businesses.
NINA MOINI: Melissa, how might this information be relevant to conversations that are going to be coming up, especially at the state legislature?
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah, I talked briefly with Andy Platto about the possibility of the Minnesota state legislature passing sports betting. There have been legislative proposals for the past several years that would allow tribal nations to have the right to sports betting in the state. Certainly, this data is relevant to those discussions.
I asked Platto who the audience is for this report. He works as a lobbyist, or has worked as a lobbyist, at the state legislature for a number of years, and that's a big part of how he came to lead MIGA. So he takes a similar approach when putting this report into the hands of legislators. He says, he really has an audience of 202 people, 201 legislators and one governor. And Platto says he hopes the public will also take an interest in this study.
NINA MOINI: Does the report raise any other questions that you'd want to explore just in future reporting? It seems like there was a lot in there.
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah, there really is. I think, for me, it's an opening to talk more about the ways tribal nations are diversifying their businesses. One of the things that Platto mentioned is that this report, in some ways, hints at how tribes are diversifying their businesses. Earlier this year, I reported on the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe purchasing the naming rights to the Downtown St. Paul hockey arena, which is now called Grand Casino Arena, formerly the Xcel Energy Center.
In his address to Band members, Chief Executive Virgil Wind of the Mille Lacs Band talked about this idea that the tribe's gaming enterprises were stagnating a little bit. And that was one of the reasons the band decided to partner with the Minnesota Wild. This study doesn't provide hard numbers in terms of the Mille Lacs Band's economy. Again, that type of data isn't accessible outside the Band. But it does help us ask better questions about how those partnerships and relationships between a tribal nation and others are a benefit to the tribe and to the state.
NINA MOINI: Right. OK, so anything else that you're working on right now that you're excited about? We're desk buddies, so I know Melissa Olson is working hard for the public, working those phones. [LAUGHS] What else are you working on you could give us a sneak peek of?
MELISSA OLSON: Well, you've probably overheard me then talking about tribal cannabis.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
MELISSA OLSON: Yeah. I think this data also provides some insight about how we might think about tribal cannabis and reporting on that into the future. I'm really interested in better understanding how small tribes are going to pay for the costs associated with regulating their cannabis markets. There are now six tribal nations who have signed compacts, cannabis compacts with the state.
And if we think about this study and the emerging tribal cannabis market, one question we might ask is, what might be the impact of tribal cannabis to the state's economy over the next several years and going forward.
NINA MOINI: You'll be looking into that. Thanks so much, Melissa.
MELISSA OLSON: You're welcome, Nina.
NINA MOINI: That was MPR News Native News Reporter Melissa Olson.
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