Diamond Game Enterprises, Inc. v. Reno

No. 98-5516 (230 F.3d 365) (D.C. Cir. November 3, 2000)

ELR Digest

The court holds that a gambling machine, known as the Lucky Tab II, used on Native American lands should be classified under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) as a Class II aid, the use of which does not require a Native American tribe to first obtain state approval in a tribal-state compact. The IGRA requires state approval for Class II facsimile machines, and the government claimed that the Lucky Tab II was a facsimile machine that mirrored the traditional game of pull tabs. The court first holds that the Lucky Tab II game is not a facsimile that requires government approval. Although the game has a video screen, the screen merely displays the contents of the paper pull tabs. Instead of using a computer to select patterns, the Lucky Tab II actually cuts a tab from paper rolls and dispenses them to players. Thus, the game functions as an aid—it helps or supports or assists the paper game of pull tabs. In addition, the Lucky Tab II game is not final because players must peel the actual pull tabs and present them to a clerk in order to collect their winnings.

The full text of this decision is available from ELR (7 pp., ELR Order No. L-287).

Counsel for Appellants
James E. Townsend
Dorsey & Whitney
1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Ste. 300 S., Washington DC 20004
(202) 824-8800

Counsel for Appellees
John T. Stahr
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000

[31 ELR 20239]

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]