Kamala Harris, attorney general from California, took Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel to a US district court, asking for a non-permanent restraint order as well as preliminary and indefinite injunctions against them.
The San Diego-based tribe, which had been granted federal recognition, made the headlines earlier in the summer of 2014 by launching an online free-play poker platform. The introduction of a cash version of the site was promised, but this never happened. Surprisingly, the tribe started the operation of a cash version of the so-called Desert Rose Bingo earlier in November. The project was a result from the collaboration between the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel and the gaming provider Great Luck LLC.
According to the AG, the tribe’s bingo platform is breaching both state and federal laws, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). What is more, Harris states that the site does not operate in accordance with the compact that Santa Ysabel signed with the state of California back in 2003.
Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino, owned by the tribe, declared bankruptcy in 2012, stating that it owed a total of $50 million. The casino closed doors in February 2014.
According to the state, Desert Rose is an “electronic facsimile of bingo” which makes it a Class III gaming activity. Yet, the signed compact does not authorize such types of activity. The tribe, on the other hand, claims that its platform provides Class II gaming, which has been acknowledged by the document.
Harris maintains that Desert Rose’s services are not limited to Santa Ysabel’s lands. To prove this, Californian investigators accessed the platform and played bingo while outside tribal lands. This, however, violates IGRA, UIGEA, and the compact from 2003.
According to UIGEA, online gambling is allowed only in case bets are made and received within the territory of a given Indian tribe. What is more, certain technologies that deny access to minors and citizens, who are not located within the respective lands, should be applied. Simply put, the state of California does not particularly approve of the Desert Rose online bingo platform.
Santa Ysabel claims that it has utilized a special virtual private network which does not breach IGRA. According to it, this type of technology ensures that only gamers that are on tribal lands can access the site and play bingo.
The state maintains that the tribe was reached back in July, when it announced its intentions about cash online platforms. Santa Ysabel, however, declined to meet Californian representatives and comment on the matter. The state also mentions that the tribe promised to introduce only an online poker site and not a bingo one.
The breachers were given two months to “cure” their violations. The case will be heard by Judge Anthony J. Battaglia on December 4.
