“Bingo Slots" and Indian Gaming in Massachusetts

The National Indian Gaming Commission's proposed Class II regulations are impacting debates over Indian gaming across the country, including in Massachusetts, where casino gaming is very much a hot topic.

The proposed regulations are the NIGC's latest effort to clarify the distinction between a Class II machine (which is regulated by the tribe with NIGC oversight) and a Class III machine (which requires a tribal-state compact). Class II machines play Class II games, such as bingo or pull-tabs, but resemble slot machines with spinning reels. Though the underlying game played by a Class II machine is clearly different -- a live bingo draw with multiple players rather than the internal random number generator of a slot machine -- its superficial similarity to a slot machine is troubling to some federal and state policymakers. The challenge for the NIGC is to respond to increasing political pressure to create a "bright-line" rule while staying true to Congress's intent in IGRA to allow tribes to use technology to enhance the play of Class II games.

In Massachusetts, the debate centers on casino-style gaming, including Class III machines. As the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the state continue to struggle over the issue of casinos, the NIGC's proposed regulations may have the effect of lessening the tribe's bargaining power. Because the Class II machines don't require a compact, the tribe can operate them without state consent. As it stands, that's a powerful argument for the tribe in a market like Massachusetts, where even a Class II "casino" is likely to be extraordinarily lucrative -- perhaps rivaling the Seminoles' financial success in Florida with Class II machines. But if the NIGC's proposed regulations require slower play and less superficial similarity to slot machines, then those requirements may make the Class II machines less attractive or exciting to customers -- and that may make the Mashpee Wampanoag's "chip" of a Class II casino worth less, both in terms of potential profits and in terms of the tribe's ongoing negotiations with Massachusetts officials.

Read more here in the Cape Cod Times.