Duluth suing over loss of casino revenue

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Duluth is suing the National Indian Gaming Commission over the city's loss of revenue sharing payments from the Fond-du-Luth Casino.

The city is asking the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to overturn the commission's decision that essentially blocks the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa from sharing casino profits. The band's revenue-sharing payments amounted to nearly $6 million a year for the city.

Duluth's lawsuit is the latest legal action over the revenue payments which the band stopped making in 2009. That's when the commission issued a 'notice of violation' over the payments.

The Duluth News Tribune says the U.S. Department of the Interior relied on the commission's decision when it canceled the agreement between the band and Duluth that sent 19 percent of electronic gambling revenue to the city.