Tribes lose appeal on casino-type games

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The decision Tuesday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was widely expected in light of a state Supreme Court ruling in June that prohibited the state lottery's Keno game and other so-called banking games, in which players compete against the house.

Federal law entitles Indian tribes to conduct the same types of gambling activities on reservations that are legal elsewhere in a state. Financially distressed California tribes had hoped for a broad interpretation of the state's lottery law that would legalize expansion of tribal casinos.

Instead, the state and federal court rulings have undermined the authority of various tribes to continue operating more than 12,000 devices that are considered slot machines under state law, according to Attorney General Dan Lungren.

Federal prosecutors, who have enforcement authority on Indian reservations, have generally put off action against the tribes until the completion of the federal court case.

Although the tribes have been rebuffed by the courts, they are optimistic about achieving some of their goals in negotiations with Gov. Pete Wilson that began last week, said Howard Dickstein, a lawyer for several tribes in the case.

Representing the Pala Band of Mission Indians in San Diego County, a tribe that has no casino, Dickstein said he seeks approval of electronic gambling games that are authorized in the lottery by state law. Rather than banking games, which were outlawed by the state court ruling, they would be games in which prizes depended entirely on the amount in the betting pool.

"The California Supreme Court provided a road map for a compromise between casino-style slot machines and lottery-style electronic gaming," Dickstein said.

While the permitted games are not as lucrative as those the tribes sought, he said he was optimistic that the negotiations would "provide the tribes with the revenue needed to continue their self-sufficiency."

Wilson spokesman Sean Walsh said the governor hoped for a successful outcome that would be a model for other tribes.

"They have to abandon their illegal gaming before we're willing to enter negotiations," he said.

Lungren, whose attempt to reach a legislative compromise on the issue was thwarted by Wilson last month, said Tuesday's ruling vindicates the state's position in the legal dispute while allowing "progress for all parties" through negotiations.

The federal appeals court reaffirmed a ruling first issued in November 1994 that rejected tribal attempts to legalize a variety of card games and electronic devices, including video versions of poker, bingo, lotto and Keno.