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- Jan 14, 2008
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The Mouthpiece- CalvinAyre- Source
The Theory
So it would logically follow that if states may now authorize Sports Betting, so can the gaming tribes. Logical, isn’t it?
Well, yeah. But as invariably happens with American gambling law, there is a catch.
The IGRA does not allow a given tribe to simply haul off and start gambling.
First, it must be a tribe that is formally recognized as such by the federal government.
(The process by which a given group of Indians is certified, decertified, or re-certified is simply too convoluted to discuss here.)
Second, for the purposes of Indian gaming, gambling itself has been divided into three categories or classes.
Class I gaming is that collection of games and contests traditionally played, before European contact.
Class I gaming is completely controlled by the tribe. Then there is Class II gaming, which is bingo (but not keno) and un-banked card games.
Class III is everything else- including sports wagering. (25 USC § 2703).
Tribes can play Class I any time. Permits to offer Class II gaming come from the federal government,
once the tribe in question has established its own gaming commission, regulations, controls, and other prescribed features.
Class III can only be offered in a given state after a compact has been signed between that tribe and the state government of the place they reside.
An approved tribe may only offer gambling—of any class—on its own lands .
An additional wrinkle for Class II is that a tribe may only offer the same kinds of card games or bingo which are also available outside the reservation.
This is why there is no Native American gambling in the states of Utah and Hawaii. The state governments there do not permit any form of gambling outside the reservation,
and, in any case, native Hawaiians are not considered to be “Native Americans” under Federal law1. Therefore, the tribes in that state may not offer it either.2
In fact, state law classifications can and do trump Indian interpretations under the IGRA. In Idaho, for instance, poker is classified as essentially class III.3
This is because the game is prohibited both by Idaho’s gambling laws and by the state constitution. If nobody else in the jurisdiction can offer poker,
neither can the Indians, IGRA or not. And the same goes for Sports Betting.
The Theory
So it would logically follow that if states may now authorize Sports Betting, so can the gaming tribes. Logical, isn’t it?
Well, yeah. But as invariably happens with American gambling law, there is a catch.
The IGRA does not allow a given tribe to simply haul off and start gambling.
First, it must be a tribe that is formally recognized as such by the federal government.
(The process by which a given group of Indians is certified, decertified, or re-certified is simply too convoluted to discuss here.)
Second, for the purposes of Indian gaming, gambling itself has been divided into three categories or classes.
Class I gaming is that collection of games and contests traditionally played, before European contact.
Class I gaming is completely controlled by the tribe. Then there is Class II gaming, which is bingo (but not keno) and un-banked card games.
Class III is everything else- including sports wagering. (25 USC § 2703).
Tribes can play Class I any time. Permits to offer Class II gaming come from the federal government,
once the tribe in question has established its own gaming commission, regulations, controls, and other prescribed features.
Class III can only be offered in a given state after a compact has been signed between that tribe and the state government of the place they reside.
An approved tribe may only offer gambling—of any class—on its own lands .
An additional wrinkle for Class II is that a tribe may only offer the same kinds of card games or bingo which are also available outside the reservation.
This is why there is no Native American gambling in the states of Utah and Hawaii. The state governments there do not permit any form of gambling outside the reservation,
and, in any case, native Hawaiians are not considered to be “Native Americans” under Federal law1. Therefore, the tribes in that state may not offer it either.2
In fact, state law classifications can and do trump Indian interpretations under the IGRA. In Idaho, for instance, poker is classified as essentially class III.3
This is because the game is prohibited both by Idaho’s gambling laws and by the state constitution. If nobody else in the jurisdiction can offer poker,
neither can the Indians, IGRA or not. And the same goes for Sports Betting.
