A judge has ruled that gambling audits of two of Minnesota's largest tribal casino operations should not be made public.

Ramsey County District Judge Louise Bjorkman ruled Tuesday that the audits contain trade secrets that are not public under the Minnesota Data Practices Act.

The audits are collected by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as part of its effort to regulate gambling.

Last year, the Minnesota Department of Administration ordered the audits to be temporarily classified as nonpublic after the tribes threatened to stop sending the audits to the Public Safety Department if they were made public.

The tribes are required under gambling compacts with the state to submit the audit figures upon request. Audits collected by state agencies are open to the public although tribal governments are exempt from Minnesota's public-records law.

Tuesday's decision was a victory for the Prairie Island Dakota and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe tribes. The tribes sued to prevent the audits' release after the Department of Administration issued an opinion that the audits were public.

A spokeswoman for Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch said the office is reviewing the decision.