State says tribe’s Internet game is illegal

Susan Haigh

Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 | 11:18 a.m.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state Division of Special Revenue on Thursday ruled that Foxwoods Resort Casino's new Internet-based "PlayAway" game violates state and federal gambling laws.

The state informed the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which owns and operates the successful southeastern Connecticut casino, that it may not offer the game on the casino's Web site and may not offer any other game online.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he's prepared to defend the decision in court.

"This game is a new game. It is a departure from the existing gambling practices that exist on the reservation," Blumenthal said.

George Henningsen, chairman of the tribe's gaming commission, said the tribe is reviewing the state's decision.

The PlayAway promotion was advertised by Foxwoods as, "Our exclusive new way to play slots, card games and your other favorite games anytime you choose, anywhere there's a computer!"

It allowed gamblers to buy keno tickets with an Internet access code at the casino, check the tickets' status at home, and then play a number of games such as simulated slot machines or a hand of blackjack or poker. The results were predetermined by the keno numbers.

The state said the game illegally expands gaming off the reservation, promotes gambling to minors and deceives players into believing they're playing games of chance, such as poker, when they're actually playing a game based on predetermined results.

"The Web site play added nothing to the outcome, though it did appear to mislead the player to believe that he or she was controlling the outcome and the amount won," Paul A. Young, executive director of the Division of Special Revenue, wrote in a letter to the casino.

The PlayAway Web site did not explain that the fancy blackjack and slot machine graphics were just a way to heighten the experience of checking for a winning keno ticket.

Henningsen has said it's the same game the casino has been running for years, in which players try to guess series of random numbers. Visitors can buy keno tickets for future games, go home, miss the drawings, check the winning numbers online and return to Foxwoods to cash in.