First Montana Tribe Approved To Offer In-Person Sports Betting

For the first time, a Montana Indian tribe will be able to offer legal retail sports betting.

The compact between the the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation was approved by the  Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and allows the tribes to offer sports betting at their Silver Wolf Casino in Wolf Point. Under the agreement, which was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 29, the tribes can add retail sports betting immediately, though there is no word yet on when the tribes plan to open up a sportsbook.

The tribes own five gaming properties located in the northeast part of the state, near the Canadian and North Dakota borders, approximately four-and-a-half hours northeast of Billings.

According to the BIA, there are eight federally recognized tribes in Montana. Seven of them operate tribal casinos, but none currently offer sports betting, which was legalized in May 2019 and is operated by the state lottery. Video poker and video keno machines are available at bars, restaurants, and convenience stores across the state, but tribal casinos are the only entities authorized to offer slot machines and other Class III gaming.

Montana lottery runs commercial wagering

Sports betting at brick-and-mortar establishments via kiosk and onsite mobile is legal in Montana, but it is exclusively offered by the Montana Lottery and is only available at participating taverns.

Lottery-owned sports betting kiosks and onsite mobile wagering are available for those wishing to bet inside of participating taverns, and each is geofenced to prevent betting outside of the approved areas.

Betting was first made available in Montana in March 2020 through the lottery-run Sports Bet Montana, which has garnered mixed reviews from consumers.

For the upcoming Super Bowl, Sports Bet Montana currently offers Kansas City at +1.5 (-105) and San Francisco at -1.5 (-112), which is actually a bit better than the -108/-112 prices offered by FanDuel and the -110/-110 prices available on ESPN BET in other states.