California tribe banned from operating online poker

A Judge ruled that the California tribe must suspend all they online gaming platforms.

US.- The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, a tribe from California, won’t be able to offer online gaming activities after a US Judge ruled that they have no legal safeguards to block foreign users from their platforms.

According to Pokersites, Anthony Battaglia, US District Court Judge, said that the native tribe must suspend all of their online gaming properties, including the Desert Rose bingo platforms and Private Table. The Californian tribe can’t keep accepting deposits from players that are not within the limits of their land. The judge cited the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

After the state and the US government sued the tribe under the UIGEA act, they cited the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) that establishes that tribes recognised on a federal level have authorisation to run Class II gaming activities. Battaglia said that when both acts are interpreted, the phrase “on Indian lands” is intended to limit gaming to those patrons who participate in the gaming activity whilst in Indian country. “Were the Court to give IGRA the broad construction Tribal Defendants urge, under no circumstances would the United States be able to enforce UIGEA where some portion of the activity originates from servers located on Indian lands,” he added.