Wisconsin Builder | An Elephant in the Room

Business ethics

By Chris Thompson

Thompson Dairyland Greyhound Park Inc. is about as two-faced as a business can get.

Whether that's bad depends on your point of view and is very much open to debate. On one side, Dairyland is talking up a deal with a development team that wants to turn the Kenosha dog track into, among other things, an American Indian casino. It's not a bad opportunity for a track that's basically running on three legs.

But at the same time, Dairyland is arguing, through a lawsuit, that Indian casinos violate the Wisconsin Constitution. That also makes business sense because casinos are big competition for the dog track.

The argument's roots stretch back to 1988 when the federal Indian Gaming Regulation Act allowed for gaming on Indian lands as long as the host state already allowed Class III gaming. About a year later, the state Legislature put the governor's office in control of negotiating gaming compacts with the state's Indian tribes.

In 1991, a Wisconsin court ruled that the state offers Class III gaming through its lottery and dog-track betting. Gov. Tommy Thompson combined that ruling with his compact authority and put Indian gaming on the Wisconsin map.

It was all pretty straightforward until the state planted the seed of Dairyland's lawsuit in 1993 when it amended the state constitution with the words, "Except as provided in this section, the Legislature may not authorize gambling in any form." The exceptions range from bingo to raffles to dog-track betting to the state lottery.

There's no exception for Indian casinos.

So Dairyland is essentially arguing that the 1993 amendment pulled the plug on Indian casinos in the state. It's an interesting issue, and one the Wisconsin Supreme Court is likely to face, but it's hard to believe that Dairyland really has its heart in it.

The company would drop the lawsuit the minute it sold out for the casino. Likewise, Dairyland will push the lawsuit to the bitter end if it doesn't get the casino deal.

Some people have moral and ethical objections to gambling. Others believe firmly that Indian casinos are both an economic necessity for the tribes and an essential revenue source for the state and its residents.

Is Dairyland shallowly manipulating the polarizing effect of casinos in Wisconsin for financial gain? Is it turning an important discussion of values into a caricature? Or is it just practicing good business?

You tell me. Send your opinions for publication to Wisconsin Builder, 133 S. Butler St., Suite 230, Madison, 53703, or by e-mail.

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