Thursday, Sept. 12, 2002 | 11:08 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. -- A lawsuit filed against the National Indian Gaming Commission by a machine manufacturer has been dismissed.
A federal judge threw out the lawsuit after finding the court did not have jurisdiction.
Multimedia Games Inc., the manufacturer of MegaNanza machines, sued after the federal commission said its games were Class III -- making them illegal in Oklahoma.
U.S. District Judge James Payne's ruling did not say how the dismissal would affect the commission's ability to enforce rules against the games.
The judge dismissed the case because of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which precludes judicial review of such tribal enforcement matters before they have been enforced.
Multimedia maintains that its MegaNanza games are Class II bingo games, not higher level "games of chance" as the commission claims.
Indian tribes in Oklahoma use the machines in their casinos.
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