Tribe In California Looks To Offer Online Poker Without State Legalization Of Online PokerIipay Nation of Santa Ysabel Launches I-Poker Platform In Golden State |
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California hasn’t legalized online poker, but that isn’t stopping one tribal group from venturing into the Internet realm thanks to “its sovereign right under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”
According to a press release, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel has established Santa Ysabel Interactive and launched the poker website Private Table at www.privatetable.com. The servers are located on tribal lands, and players must be residents of California and also physically within the state in order to play. Like tribal casinos, customers must be 18 years of age.
“In offering online gaming through Santa Ysabel Interactive, the Tribe is exerting its sovereign right under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to regulate and conduct Class II gaming from the tribe’s reservation,” the notice said. “Class II gaming, as defined by IGRA, includes poker and bingo, but does not include slot-based games or house-banked games, such as blackjack.”
Santa Ysabel has had a gaming compact with California since 2005.
The group added that its regulations to oversee its online gaming business were based of those in Delaware for the latter’s online betting industry.
The tribe further explained how it is able to launch online poker:
“Tribes are considered sovereign nations in the U.S. and inter-tribal gaming employing the Internet has been legal for several years. Class II gaming, such as poker, have been exclusively regulated by tribes in California since 1999. Absent a specific state prohibition on this type of gambling activity, which does not currently exist in California, tribes are free to engage in this activity as long as the activity is regulated by the tribe as described in the federal [IGRA]. Santa Ysabel’s online gambling, as designed, is in compliance with both state and federal law.”
There are currently two bills in the California legislature that aim to legalize online poker.
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