Poll finds majority oppose off-reservation casinos in Wisconsin

Monday, Oct. 30, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

A majority of Wisconsin residents support casinos on Indian reservations, but two-thirds oppose casinos off tribal lands, a poll indicates.

Sixty-five percent of those polled said they were against off-reservation casinos, 27 percent favored them and 8 percent were undecided, according to a survey released last week by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.

The poll of 660 residents from Oct. 18 to 21 had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

James H. Miller, the institute's president, said the question about off-reservation casinos is timely. The Lac du Flambeau is trying to open an off-reservation casino in several locations and the Potawatomi recently opened its expanded casino in Milwaukee.

"Now clearly the off-reservation issue is being brought to the forefront, and it's not clear where that's going," Miller said.

The poll showed 62 percent supported Indian casinos on reservations while 27 percent opposed them.

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