The Mission Indian Tribe Says Online Bingo Sites Fall under Class II Gaming Laws
The Santa Ysabel Band of Digueno Mission Indians announced today they are launching an online bingo website for real money. The tribe is located at the Santa Ysabel Reservation in northeastern San Diego County.
For some time, the Santa Ysabel Band had suggested it was planning to launch an online poker room. Such a room would have challenged provisions of the UIGEA law, which bans online poker, casinos, and sportsbooks. The card room approach might have entailed a lengthy lawsuit process or sanction by either the California or U.S. federal government.
Type II Gambling Portal
The decision to launch an Internet bingo portal might avoid such a legal standoff. As legal justification, The Santa Ysabel Band of Digueno Mission Indians claim they are taking Type II bets as defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Under the Indian Gambling Act, Native Americans tribes who are part of the compact can operate games on their reservation, so long as they fit the description of bingo-style gaming. Such gambling is considered less troublesome, because it often is used to make money for nonprofit charities.
Type II Slots
Such laws are used by Native American tribes to offer slot machine gaming, without breaking the laws against Type III gambling. Those who pay close attention will notice that slots terminals in Native American reservation casinos have a bingo game mechanic. The game plays out in much the same way to the naked eye, but you’ll see a small virtual bingo card somewhere on the screen. The style of gaming is different, because the RNG is tied to a real bingo game, not the usual slots reel combinations.
Tribal Sovereignty and Gaming Compacts
Online bingo parlors could be seen as a challenge to the gaming compact itself, though. Indian tribes are allowed to offer casino gambling if they are recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior and they arrange a compact with the U.S. state in which they reside. Under these circumstances, residents and tourists go the Indian reservation and play on-site.
This is seen as playing on sovereign territory–not California soil, for instance–so it is legal to do so. The Indian tribes signed sovereign treaties with the U.S. government, and are therefore recognized as sovereign nations–for the sake of gambling.
Tribal Sovereignty and Online Gambling
The problem with online gambling is the activity crosses boundaries. As soon as a gambler living somewhere else in California begins gambling at an online tribal bingo parlor, then the federal government is allowed a great deal more latitude in enforcing its ban on online gambling. If the reservation is seen as sovereign, then it is taking bets from another sovereign state, and the federal government can regulate those transactions.
The site in question will be known as DeadRosesBingo.com. Online bingo is played using a random number generator. People register an account to pay for games, using the same payment methods they would for online poker. The sites are powered using licensed software from known developers. The Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueno Mission Indians is a recognized tribe of the Kumeyaay Indians. The Kumeyaay are commonly known as Mission Indians.
Earlier this year, the Santa Ysabel Casino closed its doors. The casino’s debt situation spiraled out of control in recent years, so the Indian tribe decided to shut down operations in February 2014. Since then, tribal leaders have said they would apply their license to online poker. Because state gaming laws regarding online poker have dragged on (due to bad actor laws pertaining to PokerStars), the tribe has been unable to launch the much-talked-about poker site legally.
In lieu of that website, the online bingo parlor promises to bring in additional revenues for the tribe at a much lower cost structure than a land casino would. Though an online site pays a license for the software and needs a call center to help customers with tech issues and other questions, the investment in equipment and labor costs are significantly reduced when it comes to online gambling operations.
