8Jun
North Dakota Casinos and Gambling
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Though politically somewhat conservative, North Dakota is reasonably liberal when it comes to its gambling laws. Though there are not yet any commercial casinos, just about every other form of land-based gambling is legal in the state.
There are also casinos in the state, though those are tribal.
North Dakota has a state lottery and the year end audit for 2019 Fiscal Year appears here.
As we can see, total ticket sales were $35,552,991 against $18,240,252 in prizes that were paid out representing a return to player of 51.3044%, which is pretty low even by lottery standards.
We see that the two biggest sources of ticket sales, by far, are the multi-state major jackpot PowerBall and Mega Millions games, so that is the source of the extremely low overall return to player for the North Dakota lottery. In fact, it would seem that all lottery games in the state are drawing games, as opposed to instant tickets, so the low returns are no surprise. Based on a population of 760,077 (2018), the annual loss to the lottery, per resident, is an extremely low $22.78 (rounded.)
The low loss per resident can be attributed to both the fact that it is a sparsely populated state, but also to the fact that the state does not seem to offer any instant tickets.
There are essentially three types of charitable gaming enterprises that are allowed by law. The first of these is to get an annual license at a cost of $150, which will enable the entity to conduct bingo and raffles. The second possible way is to have a local permit, which enables the operation of bingo, raffles and sports pools. The reporting requirements for local permits are less than they are for the third type; restricted permits. Restricted permits enable an organization to conduct one event to include bingo, raffles, sports pools, twenty-one (blackjack), poker and paddlewheels.
There are also two different tax forms for the state when it comes to charitable gambling. The short form is for entities who only operate in one location and had gross proceeds of less than $250,000 for the year. These entities are taxed at a rate of 1% of gross proceeds.
The long form deals with organizations who operated in multiple locations and/or had gross proceeds of more than $250,000. These entities are taxed at a rate of 1% of the first $1,500,000 in gross proceeds and a rate of 2.25% of any gross proceeds in excess of $1,500,000.
In terms of the rates, these are all pretty standard for charitable gaming. While there are a few states out there who just want a licensing fee, for those states that want a percentage of the proceeds, this is about what to expect.
When it comes to horse racing, both live racing and simulcast wagering with pari-mutuel betting are legal in the state, so we will also list the racetracks below.
Online Gambling In North Dakota
Update: As it stands, the only legal casino operators in the State of North Dakota are a handful of Native American tribes, which currently operate several land casinos within the state, which you can read about below.
It might be something of an outside chance, but according to KFYRTV, North Dakota’s tribes are currently lobbying for the compacts to be amended so that online gambling and sports wagering can be conducted through the Tribal land casinos. Quoting, in part:
The tribes are turning to Republican Gov. Doug Burgum to approve the idea under tribal-state agreements known as compacts, the first of which was signed in 1992. The current compacts expire at the end of this year and only Burgum can approve them, said Deb McDaniel, North Dakota’s top gambling regulator.
As DraftKings would have it, North Dakotans are already betting hundreds of millions of dollars at offshore sportsbooks every year, though I am somewhat skeptical of that claim. With so many states that already have legalized sportsbooks, it seems to me that residents of North Dakota could simply link up with a friend in another state to place whatever bets they like for them.
In the meantime, another possibility is that North Dakota, similar to states such as Illinois and New Hampshire, make online sportsbooks legal, but do not do the same for online casinos.
It’s also possible that the state has interest in allowing for online gambling, but would not necessarily want to give the tribes exclusivity over that, so we will just have to wait and see.
Of course, players might be waiting for a while. In the meantime, there are several casinos located outside of the United States who have been offering their online products to residents of North Dakota for several years, sometimes even decades, so feel free to check out our top picks for places to play located above!
At this time, there is no legalized and state regulated form of online gambling within the State of North Dakota and we cannot find any information that would lead us to expect any such anytime soon.
With that being said, North Dakota is kind of an interesting state in the way they handle online players. Unlawful gambling is a punishable crime if someone is betting more than $25 per gambling, “Event,” which would be a hand or a pull of the slots. If the individual is betting less than that amount, then online gambling is perfectly legal within the state.
Obviously, there is going to be a different set of laws as it relates to operators of online casinos, but it should come as no surprise that no online casinos operate out of that state. Overseas casinos do, however, operate in North Dakota and are out of the state’s jurisdictional reach.
It should also be noted that there are a few other places with, “Casino,” in the name in North Dakota, but they’re not actually casinos. If you’ll recall the charitable gaming laws we discussed earlier, these places do that kind of stuff and, for one reason or another, are allowed to put, “Casino,’ in their name. The only thing you’ll find there that’s even remotely casino-like is Bingo and Blackjack.
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Land Casinos In North Dakota
In this section, we will only discuss the Tribal Casinos in North Dakota and not the two horse racing tracks, Chippewa Downs and North Dakota Horse Park. The reason for that is because no simulcast wagering actually takes place at the two racetracks, in fact, the former only had eight racing days in 2019 with four racing days that year for the latter.
There are a handful of locations in the state in which simulcast wagers can be made, but those are just three select bars and the fourth is at one of the Tribal Casinos. With that, let’s see what’s going on in North Dakota at the Tribal Casinos!
Dakota Magic Casino
Located in Hankinson, North Dakota, Dakota Magic Casino is an ENTERPRISE OF THE SISSETON WAHPETON OYATE tribe of Indians, according to its website. The 164 guestroom and suite hotel comes equipped with bottled water and in-room coffeemakers in all guestrooms. The rates seem pretty economical, but that could just be due to low travel.
The slots floor consists of more than 700 combined video poker, video keno and slot machines ranging in denomination from pennies to $25/credit. Their website does not say how many gaming tables that they have, but the only two games listed are blackjack and craps. One interesting thing is that they say the blackjack table will accept bets of up to $250 on weekends.
There is a surprising array of dining options considering the size of the casino. The property’s buffet is known as Seven Fire Buffet. Other restaurants include Twin Buffalo Grill (American and Comfort food), Dakota Winds Tavern Bar and Grill (located in the clubhouse of the golf course) and the Exit 1 Deli for quick eats.
In addition to the golf course, entertainment in the form of live music can be found on weekends at the Exit 1 Lounge.
Essentially, the casino reads like a little locals place, which is perfectly fine given the location. It’s definitely not something to build a trip around, but definitely something worth visiting and considering a stay if you are in the area or happen to be passing through.
Four Bears Casino
The Four Bears Casino, stylized as 4 Bears Casino, is a property owned and operated by Three Affiliated Tribes. Located in New Town, North Dakota and overlooking Lake Sakakawea, this property is home to a 220 guestroom and suite hotel, RV Park and has a number of lakeside cabins also available. The hotel also includes access to an indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna and exercise room.
This casino also features just over 700 machines ranging in denomination from pennies to $25/credit and includes slots, video poker and video keno.
Again, the property does not include a total count of table games on its website, but we do know that blackjack, craps and roulette are available games. The website also advertises a high limit blackjack area with $25 minimum bets ranging to $250 maximum bets.
The poker room is also open daily with tournaments from Wednesdays-Sundays. The number of tables is not listed on the website, but it seems that the house deals Texas Hold ‘Em exclusively.
The fine dining location for this casino is The Bison Room Steakhouse, which is open in the evening hours on weekends. They say that all of their desserts are made from scratch and fresh fish is flown in each day they are open. The Cache Buffet has a Native American theme and features all of the stuff that you would expect, an added bonus is a made-to-order steaks, omelettes and sandwiches station. Finally, the Corner Cafe is your place for casual dining and grab and go type stuff.
The Pocket Aces Lounge is smoker-friendly, offers an assortment of bar foods and features live entertainment on the weekends. The property is also home to an event center that features a variety of different things with upcoming events available on their website.
This casino reads like a slightly more enhanced version of the Dakota Magic. It has a few offerings they don’t (mostly poker and roulette) and the Event Center already has some stuff scheduled for the early part of the year. The hotel is also larger and has more amenities. Again, great place for locals and worth a stop if you are staying or passing through the area.
Grand Treasure Casino
Grand Treasure Casino is a small casino owned by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and is located in Williston, North Dakota. The property features more than 400 slot machines with a partial list of titles available on their website.
Eateries include Coney Cove for brats and hot dogs, Painted Pony Cafe for casual food and something known as The Steak Pit where the customer gets to grill his or her own steak indoors.
Not much else to say about this one, if you like slots and are in the area, it might be worth having a look.
Prairie Nights Casino and Resort
Located near Fort Yates, North Dakota, the Prairie Nights Casino and Resort is owned and operated by the Standing Rock Indian Tribe. The property features a 200 room hotel, which includes 12, “Luxury Suites.” Hotel amenities include a water slide, indoor pool, kids pool, hot tub and arcade. Guests will also enjoy the fitness center and complimentary wireless internet access.
The casino floor, as of the time of this writing, features precisely 727 combined video poker, video keno and slot machine games. The property also includes a handful of gaming tables and spreads Blackjack, Craps, Three-Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em.
The property’s buffet is known as the Feast of the Rock buffet and features the usual stuff one would expect from a casino buffet. The Hunters Club more closely approaches fine dining and is open in the evening from Tuesday-Sunday, this eatery is well-known for fresh seafood and meats. The property’s two bars, Prairie Bar and Tatanka Bar are open daily and feature traditional bar fare as well as sandwiches.
This establishment is also home to an entertainment Pavilion with events scattered throughout the year and a list of upcoming events on their website.
This is definitely a place for locals and we would recommend a stop if you are staying or passing through the area. In terms of hotel amenities, this is definitely on the shortlist for the best tribal casino hotels in the area.
Sky Dancer Casino and Resort
The Sky Dancer Casino and Resort is a resort property located in Belcourt, North Dakota and is owned and operated by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
The hotel consists of 194 combined standard and deluxe rooms. The rates may seem lower compared to some other hotels, but that is because they have an, “Administrative Fee,” of $7.50 per night on all rooms, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean. Most likely, it’s just a resort fee with a silly name.
They do have an interesting gimmick in that some rooms will be discounted by $65 if the player earns 2,500 points on his/her players club card. While the idea of comping or reducing room rates is nothing new, this policy makes it easy to determine exactly how much money you would have to play through the machines (or tables) to qualify for the rate reduction. All rooms include refrigerator, coffeemaker, microwave and Wi-Fi and there is also a discount for extended stays.
Sky Rewards is the players club for this casino, and once again, we have to give a ton of credit to the casino for making some of the play required for comps known ahead of time! On this part of their website, they have the following packages that a player can receive based on their last thirty days of play.
The casino is home to roughly 700 slot, video poker and video keno machines, according to their website. Table Games include Blackjack, Let it Ride, Four Card Poker and a game called Phil ‘Em Up Mac.
Here’s what they have to say about their poker room:
For those of you who love the tables, we offer some of the best Poker around. The Poker Room has a variety of tournaments for everyone no matter what your experience level.
The Poker Room offers No-limit Texas Hold’em Tournaments on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays with Registration opening 2 hours prior to each tournament. Fridays, the Poker Room opens at 4:00pm with Live Games of Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Low, Tahoe Hi-Low & Seven Card Stud. Saturdays and Sundays, we open the doors at noon with more live games. The Poker Room is closed every Tuesday and Thursday.
The property is also home to a large bingo hall that operates daily. Finally, this is the Tribal Casino we mentioned at which simulcast wagering is available.
The property’s restaurant is known as Grillers and the property also has fried chicken that can be ordered from a place called Miikana.
The property’s two bars are the Casino Floor Bar and the Events Lounge. The latter of the two is located across from the Event Center which seems to bring in musical and other acts somewhat sporadically.
Overall, this reads about the same as the other two casinos that we have already discussed, but we do have to give a huge amount of credit to them for being so upfront about what some of their comps are for earning certain amounts of points. If I were in the Belcourt area, I’d definitely take a look around and maybe spend a night!
Spirit Lake Casino
The Spirit Lake Casino and Resort is owned by the Spirit Lake Tribe and has a gaming floor consisting of more than 80,000 square feet of real estate. It is located in St. Michael, North Dakota. In addition to the 150 guestroom and suite hotel, the property is also home to an RV Park, cottages, cabins and a lake house that can be rented.
The property features wireless internet, an indoor pool, a steam room, a whirlpool and an exercise room. The property also tacks on a resort fee of 5% of the room rate, which is highly irregular, as resort fees are typically some flat charge elsewhere.
The gaming floor consists of 650 combined slots, video poker and video keno machines. Table games are open from noon to midnight daily and include Blackjack, Craps, Phil ‘Em Up Poker, Three-Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em and Let it Ride. The website states that limits run from $3-$250 per hand. The bingo hall is open from Wednesday-Sunday and has concessions available inside.
The View is the property’s featured eatery that, no surprise, features a great view. This eatery is probably slightly upscale casual and no reservations are required. The Dakota Buffet is the property’s buffet and The Snack Bar/Lucky Cup Coffee Shop is the place for quick eats.
Other features of the property include a smoke shop, gift shop, grocery store and an auditorium that features events sporadically throughout the year.
Overall, this is pretty similar to the other Tribal Casinos in the state in terms of their offerings. As always, it’s definitely worth a look if you happen to be passing through or staying in the area. It might even be worth a stay, although, I would personally object to a percentage-based resort fee.
North Dakota Slot Machine Ownership
Slot machines ownership is legal in the state of North Dakota, but state legislation prevents ownership of slot machines that are newer than 25 years old.
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Conclusion And Prognosis
That about does it for North Dakota, which as mentioned, is fairly liberal when it comes to gambling. Even though there are no commercial casinos, it’s certainly a unique thing for charitable organizations to be permitted to offer blackjack as well as poker and the fees charged by the state are pretty low.
As we know, the state does have a fairly small population, so it is also perhaps true that North Dakota sees no reason to bring in commercial casinos to compete with the tribes. The tribes seem to have a full complement of gaming offerings available and it seems like they intentionally, “Right-sized,” themselves based on the limited available market.
There does not appear to be much in legislation to expand what gambling the state does have. Simulcast horse wagering is licensed for a few locations, but interestingly enough, not at the actual race tracks. That could be because they run so few days per year. We don’t think it’s very likely that online casino gambling will come to the state anytime soon simply because there doesn’t seem to be much interest, also, there would be no physical commercial casino to affiliate it with.
We could be off-base, but the overall attitude of the state seems to be content to let the Tribal Casinos and charities do their thing, which would also partially explain why the lottery doesn’t sell instant tickets…they could take some of the market away from charitable pull tabs by doing that. In any case, if a resident of the state does want to gamble, there is no shortage of options.
In my opinion, the only thing that would make sense would be to have Video Lottery Terminal, “Parlors,” that would be limited to charitable organizations and 5-10 machines. A few other states that are sparsely populated in parts (West Virginia and Montana are two examples) do that, but it’s not limited to charities.
References
- North Dakota Attorney General: Gaming Division
- North Dakota Lottery
- Wikipedia: List of Casinos in North Dakota
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You must be 21 or older to gamble in North Dakota
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