Sovereignty Plus Federal
Recognition Equals Gaming
18 November 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I have never been quite able to understand why
certain Indian casinos have full-fledged
gambling, while others have what amounts to
nothing more than a bingo hall. One that I was
in recently said they were not allowed to have
slots; yet, you could play bingo on a slot
machine. What gives? Then there are other Indian
casinos that have gambling just like what you
would find in, say, Reno, Nevada. I'm confused?
Jack M.
Broadly speaking, without regard to specific
details or exceptions, who's got what, where and
why, depends on the specific type of compact
each tribe negotiated with the state, and what
class of gaming that tribe is allowed to
provide. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,
enacted in 1988 as Public Law 100 497, provides
the jurisdictional framework that presently
governs all forms of Indian gaming. The Act
establishes three classes of games, each having
their own regulatory scheme.
Class I gaming is defined as traditional Indian
gaming and social games for minimal prizes.
Regulatory authority over Class I gaming is
exclusively vested with the tribes, not the
state or federal government. One example of such
a game would be Women's Gambling Dice - Sierra
Miwok Style, once played in the Yosemite Valley.
Traditionally, a female-only game, it is played
with six black walnut half shells, filled with
pine resin and charcoal, and ten counter sticks.
The object of the game is to win all the counter
sticks onto one side. The walnut shells are used
as dice and the gambling could consist of
play-by-play betting, or end-of-game results.
Who says women don't know nuttin' 'bout craps?
Where you played, Jack, offered only Class II
gaming, defined as the game of chance commonly
known as bingo. If played in the same location
as the bingo, instant bingo, punch board, pull
tabs and other games similar to bingo are also
allowed. Class II gaming can also include
non-banked card games. Non-banked games are
played exclusively player-vs-player, and not
against the house or against any player acting
as a bank. The Act explicitly excludes slot
machines, or electronic facsimiles of any of the
class II games; hence no one-armed bandits.
Tribes retain the authority to conduct, regulate
and license class II gaming, as long as the
state in which the Tribe is located permits such
gaming for any other purpose. So, if for example
Our Lady of Guadalupe in Billings, MT offers a
bingo night, then all Montana tribes are allowed
to have all forms of bingo, including those
bingo slots that you described.
Class III gaming, often referred to as
casino-style gaming, is wide-ranging and
includes casino games such as slot machines,
black jack, craps, roulette, poker, etc.
Before a Tribe is allowed access to your wallet,
the following conditions must be met: (1) The
Tribe must negotiate a compact with the state
and the compact must be approved by the
Secretary of the Interior; (2) The particular
form of class III gaming that the Tribe wants to
conduct must be permitted in the state in which
the tribe is located; (3) The Tribe has to adopt
a Tribal gaming ordinance that has been approved
by the Chairman of the State's Gaming
Commission.
As to your question regarding bingo slots, yep,
Jack, they are recognized by Uncle Sam as Class
II gaming devices, because electronic, computer,
or other technological aids used in connection
with bingo are allowed. One such company, Rocket
Gaming, headquartered in Miami, OK, provides
Class II bingo slots to approximately 55 Native
American gaming facilities in 13 states.
Specializing in wide-area linked progressives,
their machines are played in real time, with
players competing against each other for major
progressive jackpots.
True, Jack, they look and feel like typical slot
machines, but technically they're not.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "You can take the
man out of the casino, but you can't take the
'looking for an edge' mentality out of the man."
-- Bob Dancer, "Casino Player"
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