By STEVE KARNOWSKI and GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Native American tribes have emerged as key players in the legislative debates over whether states should legalize sports betting.

Some oppose the idea because it could threaten their casinos. Others support legalization, but only if they retain a monopoly.

In many states, tribes are fighting sports betting or taking a go-slow approach because they worry it could force them to reopen decades-old agreements. Those agreements give them exclusive rights to operate casinos and offer certain forms of gambling.

In others, including North Carolina and Connecticut, casino-operating tribes are the ones leading the legalization efforts.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year opened the door to expanding legalized sports betting beyond Nevada.

Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix; Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City, Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas, contributed to this article.

Follow Karnowski at http://www.twitter.com/skarnowski and Mulvihill at http://www.twitter.com/geoffmulvihill .

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