Having a casino in our neighborhood would be devastating to the local nonprofits that have charitable gaming in Moorhead, Fargo and the surrounding communities.
It’s hard enough for the gaming sites on the Minnesota and North Dakota border to compete with North Dakota gaming sites that have casino-style e-tab machines. We on the Minnesota side are restricted to tablet style machines, and then the last Minnesota legislators made changes by taking the motion and free plays at the request of the Tribes of Minnesota.
Even though the state lowered the tax on e-tabs, our losses for the first 90 days of 2025 is over $90,000 compared to the same time frame in 2024.
Loss of charitable gambling money would result in us not being able to support our veteran and youth programs, and this would also result in other non-profits having to do the same.
All nonprofits with charitable gaming must pay taxes on all money wagered; Native American casinos do not pay any taxes on money waged.
Paul Leeman is commander of the Moorhead American Legion Post 21.
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