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Indian casinos nationwide wary of sports betting

A person walks by a betting wall at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, Miss., on Dec. 18. The sports book owned by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is the first to open on tribal lands outside of Nevada following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, a no-brainer business decision given the sports fans among its gambling clientele. (AP photo)

By REGINA GARCIA CANO

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Two dozen large-screen TVs showing football and other sports line the walls. There’s beer on tap.

And at this American Indian casino in the heart of college-football mad Mississippi, you can legally bet on the games.

The sports book owned by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is the first to open on tribal lands outside of Nevada following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

The book at Pearl River Resort is packed every college football Saturday, but remains an outlier months after the high court opened the door for expanded sports gambling.

Tribes enthusiastically welcomed the decision in May but since then, the regulatory challenges and low-margin nature of the business have sunk in.

Few Indian casinos have an enviable location like the Choctaw and many need state approval to add sports betting to their offerings.

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