California rejects iGaming petition

The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel will not be able to operate online bingo and poker services.

US.- The Ninth Circuit Court Judge Carlos T. Bea decided last week that the Californian Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel will not operate online bingo and poker services. Currently, California does not allow free operations of iGaming market and the regulations also apply to local Indian tribes that offer gaming services.

According to the official statement, Judge Carlos T. Bea ruled: “The panel held that Iipay Nation’s operation of Desert Rose Casino violated the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”). The panel held that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act protected gaming activity conducted on Indian lands, but the patrons’ act of placing a bet or wager on a game of Desert Rose Casino while located in California, violated the UIGEA and was not protected by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”

And continued: “The panel further held that even if all of the ‘gaming activity’ associated with Desert Rose Casino occurred on Indian lands, the patrons’ act of placing bets or wagers over the internet while located in a jurisdiction where those bets or wagers were illegal made Iipay Nation’s decision to accept financial payments associated with those bets or wagers a violation of the UIGEA. Because Iipay’s operation of DRB violates the UIGEA, the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court’s order granting summary judgment to the Government.”