Tribes want federal regulation of Internet gaming

[Mousey]

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By SUZANNE GAMBOA | Associated Press – 2 hrs 5 mins ago....

..WASHINGTON (AP) — With some states readying to start online gambling, Native American tribal leaders are calling on the federal government to step in as it did with brick-and-mortar gambling and establish regulations that ensure tribes get a piece of the action without having their revenue taxed and their sovereignty compromised.

A new set of regulations is unlikely before this year's election, but recent events have given momentum to efforts to launch online gambling in some states. Since a December 2011 Department of Justice opinion that not all Internet gambling is banned by federal law, Delaware has legalized online gambling and Nevada is closing in on making online poker possible. New Jersey, too, is working to make it a reality.

Some tribes worry if regulation is left to states, it will be a patchwork of rules that aren't considerate of the relationship Native Americans have with the federal government.

"Tribes should be extremely hesitant to entrust their economic futures to the tender mercies of the 50 states, many of whom are still in financial crises
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[vinylweatherman]

If there is a patchwork of rules set by individual states, surely a lack of federal guidance leaves the way open for the tribes to adopt their own "patchwork" of rules under their sovereignty. The Kahnawake territory has long since run online gambling under their own rules, and despite a fair bit of posturing from the Canadian government, they are still doing it.

The main problem faced by the tribes is probably access to the internal US market, as it seems the states only allow their own operations to accept bets from within the state.

One thing the tribes could consider is opening a load of internet cafes within their territories, and use these to enable US players access to offshore sites that are normally blocked for them. The tribes would have to find a way to process the transactions for the players in a way that bypasses the US banking regulations and UIGEA, and any attempt to stop them could be met with a "violation of our sovereignty" counter claim.

The potential for this to get out of hand should spur federal regulation sooner rather than later.